Can't Fish

Cebu, Philippines - The search for oil along the Cebu-Bohol Strait has just started, but fishermen from two southern coastal towns in Cebu are already complaining.

At least 500 fishermen in Sibonga town have been out of work after they were told to stop fishing from June 14 to 28 during the conduct of a seismic survey, Sibonga Mayor Nestor Ponce said.

He is asking the Department of Energy (DOE) to help the fishermen get compensation for lost revenues.

At least 300 fishermen in Argao town are also seeking financial assistance out of fear that they might not be able to feed their families if they can no longer fish during the conduct of the seismic survey.

The DOE has granted a service contract to Australian-based NorAsian Energy Ltd. to undertake oil exploration in the Cebu-Bohol Strait, a protected seascape that separates the two island-provinces.

The first phase of the exploration is the conduct of a seismic survey to determine if there is indeed oil or gas deposits along the strait.

Five southern towns in Cebu would be affected by the seismic survey — Argao, Sibonga, Dalaguete, Alcoy and Boljoon.

The survey started in Argao town on Tuesday on board MV Pacific Sword from Palawan, which would carry the seismic testing.

On Monday, MV Pacific Sword and two to three supporting vessels conducted “test shots” to familiarize the areas where the survey would be conducted and to check on their equipment.

The supporting vessels, bearing personnel from the Coast Guard, the DOE and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), would also ensure that no other vessels, or fishermen, would stray into an 8.5-kilometer radius delineated around the seismic vessel.

NorAsian dispatched a public advisory last week, requesting all passenger ferries and commercial fishing vessels to stay 8.5 kilometers away from MV Pacific Sword to avoid damage to their vessels and fishing equipment.

Swimming and diving activities were also prohibited within 10 kilometers of the moving vessel. Fishermen were also advised to clear out their fish pens or “payaos” before the seismic survey.

No fishing allowed

Mayor Ponce told Cebu Daily News that many fishermen came to him to complain that they were not allowed to fish on June 14 to 28 during the conduct of the seismic survey in their area.

“While the survey has been conducted, affected jud ang atong mga mananagat kay sila man ang nasakprisyo like ilang panginabuhi naputol og syempre mi-reklamo sila unsaon na ang budget nila sa pamilya (our fishermen are affected after their livelihood has been cut off. Of course they will complain because the family budget has been affected),” he said.

Ponce asked Antonio Labios, DOE-Visayas director, on Monday that the fishermen be given P8,000 in compensation.

The amount would be separate from the P8,000 that would be given to each fish pen owner. There are 22 registered fish pen owners in Sibonga, Ponce said.

Ponce said the fisherfolks were not opposed to the seismic survey and the oil exploration. What they wanted was for the DOE to help them financially.

Alfredo Bacacao, barangay captain of Bagacay, a coastal village, said the proposed P8,000 in compensation might not be enough for the entire duration of the seismic survey.

He said the energy department should coordinate with the BFAR in the discussion because the agency knows average income of the fishermen.

Additional compensation

Fishermen in Argao town also want to receive compensation for lost in revenues aside from payment for their fish pens that were removed to make way of the survey.

Two fisherfolk associations received P7,000 for each of the payao destroyed during a clearing operation on June 13. The members earlier complained to the police that 14 fish pens were destroyed by people on board a tugboat hired by NorAsian.

These are Langtad Fishermen Association (LFA) and Nagkahiusang Mananagat sa Taloot (Nagmata). Their complaint prompted NorAsian and DOE officials to meet with the fishermen inside the office of Argao Mayor Wilfredo Caminero on Monday night.

After the negotiations, the organizations were compensated.

Ariel Sarajena, LFA president, said that aside from the payment of the fish pens, each affected fisherman should receive P5,000 for each month that they were not able to fish because of the seismic survey.

If they could not go fish, he added, their family would go hungry because they had no other means to earn a living.

Sarajena said their demand for compensation has the support of the Nagmata.

Sarajena said his group had 200 member-fishermen, while Nagmata had over 100.

Compensation should also include those unregistered fishermen.

Can fish

Labios of the DOE said the fishermen could still go out to the sea to fish every now and then, depending on the location of the seismic vessel.

He said NorAsian would just want to avoid accidents because the seismic vessel would be tugging cables about six-kilometers long.

“We do not prohibit fishing. What we want to happen is that if the vessel is there, they (fishermen) must be in the safe distance for safety. But if the vessel has passed by their area, they can go fish,” Labios said.

Unlike in Cebu, Bohol officials held off the conduct of the seismic survey in their waters unless safety nets were in place to protect the fishermen and the province’s rich marine resources.

Bohol Governor Erico Aumentado said the DOE and NorAsian must present a protection and rehabilitation program of the Bohol marine resources. There should also be clear compensation package for the hundreds of fishermen who will be displaced.

Aumentado also wanted the DOE and NorAsian to be held accountable to whatever negative effect that the seismic survey would later have.

He said the survey might drive away the dolphins , which is the main attraction on Pamilacan Island, Bohol.

Labios assured that all the issues raised by Bohol officials would be threshed out this week so the seismic activity could proceed.

DOE Assistant Secretary Francisco Delfin said that NorAsian had started paying the affected fishermen. “As far as fisher folks are concerned those things had been ironed out,” he said.

Labios, for his part, said NorAsian had committed to pay to those affected by the survey. He added he had talked with Mayor Ponce of Sibonga to discuss the concerns of the fishermen.