TACLOBAN CITY — Thirteen local government units in Southern Leyte are drafting municipal fisheries ordinances adopting management measures for sardines and siganids, locally known as danggit, to strengthen conservation and ensure sustainable fish stocks.

At the core of the proposed ordinances is a sardine fishery management plan that will impose a closed season from 1 December to 31 March each year.

During this period, catching, landing, or selling sardines — including fry and juveniles — will be strictly prohibited. The measure also bans the harvest, landing, or sale of sardines measuring below 14 centimeters to allow the species to reproduce and rebuild its population.

LGUs expected to adopt the policy include Maasin City, Macrohon, Malitbog, Padre Burgos, Tomas Oppus, Bontoc, Sogod, Libagon, Liloan, Pintuyan, San Francisco, San Ricardo and Limasawa.

The ordinance will also regulate the use of key fishing gears commonly used in sardine fishing, including drift gill nets, bag nets, and ring nets. These will be prohibited during the closed season, while outside the ban period, their use will be strictly limited to 16 fishing days per month to reduce fishing pressure and support stock recovery.

Christine Gresola, regional information officer of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Eastern Visayas, said the closed season will be implemented under Fisheries Management Area (FMA) 9.

FMA 9 spans 2.8 million hectares across 11 provinces in five regions, including parts of Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao and Caraga.

Gresola said the measure aims to protect sardines during their peak spawning period to help restore declining fish populations caused by overfishing.

The ordinances will also include a periodic fishing ban for siganids, along with habitat protection and rehabilitation efforts.

“Through these ordinances, we hope to strengthen sustainable fishing practices through harmonized regulations and improved enforcement,” said Macrohon Councilor Retchie Jacob Madrona.