The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has recently released Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) 208-1, series of 2024, imposing a comprehensive ban on activities involving certain rare and endangered aquatic species.

Effective immediately, the order prohibits any individual or entity from engaging in fishing, catching, gathering, selling, buying, owning, transporting, exporting, or sending out of the country any live, dead, parts, by-products, or derivatives of the following species:

Asian Arowana (Scleropages formosus), known locally as Arowana, Pungag, Pait, Labayan; Arapaima/Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas), referred to as Dapilog, Bungkawil, Arapaima; Napoleon Wrasse/Humphead Wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus), with local names Maming, Pantranco, Ipesadi, Mol-mol, Mamol, Mameng, Hipus, Angol, Mumol; and Seahorses (Hippocampus spp.), known as Kabayo-kabayong katad, Kabalyo, Marino, Kabayong katad, Dagom-dagom, Undok-undok, Kurukabayong.

Under the new administrative penalties, violators caught with Asian Arowana will be fined an amount equivalent to five times the value of the species or between P500,000 and P5,000,000, whichever is higher, and the species will be confiscated.

For those dealing with Arapaima, Napoleon Wrasse, and Seahorses, the fine is set at three times the species’ value or from P300,000 to P3,000,000, again with the higher amount prevailing, and the species will also be seized.

Criminal penalties are also severe. Individuals involved with Asian Arowana face imprisonment ranging from 12 years and 1 day to 20 years, a fine double that of the administrative penalty, confiscation of the species, and revocation of their fishing permits.

For those handling Arapaima, Napoleon Wrasse, and Seahorses, the penalty includes a jail term of 5 to 8 years and a fine that is double the administrative penalty, alongside confiscation of the species.

The government strives to conserve these rare, threatened, and endangered fishery species, as outlined in Section 102 of Republic Act 8550, as amended by RA 10654.

Photo credits for the species images are as follows: FishBase, www.tagmyfish.com (Arapaima), Karen Honeycutt 2008 (Napoleon Wrasse), www.nature.com (Arowana), www.sciencedirect.com (Seahorse).

Photo credit: BFAR MIMAROPA FRMS Facebook Page.