MALACAÑANG
RESIDENCE OF THE PRESIDENT
OF THE PHILIPPINES
Manila

Proclamation No. 14

RESERVING CERTAIN AREA OF THE PHILIPPINE WATERS WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF QUEZON PROVINCE FOR A MARINE BIOLOGICAL STATION TO BE ESTABLISHED AND OPERATED BY THE LUZONIAN COLLEGES, UNDER THE CONTROL AND SUPERVISION OF THE DIRECTOR OF FISHERIES, FOR SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATIONAL STUDIES OF MARINE AND ESTUARINE FAUNA AND FLORA AS WELL AS THE OCEANOGRAPHY OF THE WATERS OF THE RESERVATION PRINCIPALLY FOR THE WISE UTILIZATION AND CONSERVATION OF THE AQUATIC RESOURCES OF THE AREA

Upon recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources and pursuant to the provisions of section 73 of Act Numbered Four thousand and three, as amended, I hereby reserve for a marine biological station to be established and operated by the Luzonian Colleges under the supervision and control of the Director of Fisheries, subject to private rights if any there be, a certain marine area of Philippine waters situated in the Municipalities of Lucena and Padre Burgos, Quezon Province, Island of Luzon, and more particularly described and delimited as follows:

"Starting from the coastline off Tayabas Point (13° 33′ 30″ N. 121° 36′ 45″ E.), Lucena, Quezon Province, Luzon Island and following the line due south to a position (13° 51′ 00″ N. 121° 36′ 45″ E.) about 2 ½ miles from Tayabas point, thence along the line due east to a position (13° 51′ 00″ N. 121° 52′ 12″ E.) about 15 1/3 miles distant from the immediately preceding position, thence along the line due north to its intersection with the coastline of the mainland of Luzon Island, and thence along the coastline to the starting point."

The use of the said reservation shall be subject to the following rules and regulations:

1. That commercial fishing shall be limited to the use of the following fishing appliances with certain limitations: baklad, kawil, pante, kitang, pukot laot, pukot tabi, pahila, pabahay, dayakus, sapyaw, basnig, salambaa, bintol, bombon, katigbi, kubkob, and Muro-ami However, all forms of subsistence fishing gear such as bingwit, dala, sakag, pana, subsod and the like shall be allowed without restriction at any time of the year. Provided, however, That baklads shall be constructed with a distance of not less than 200 meters from each other and not less than 100 meters if owned by the same owner. Provided, further, That baklad set across straits, channels, streams and rivers shall leave open one third of the passage to allow free navigation and migration, to and from, of estuarine and catadromous fishes.

2. Sapyaw, basnig, talaeop, cubcob, largarete and muro–ami shall only be allowed to operate during the southwest and northerly period (May to February, inclusive of each year) and closed during the rest of the year "(March and April).

3. That the catching of bangos fry (kawag-kawag) and sugpo fry shall be allowed; provided, that the fry of other commercial fishes shall be returned back into the water unharmed.

4. That the catching of the bañgos breeders (sabalo) shall be prohibited from February 1 to July 31, inclusive of each year.

5. That the catching of the fry of banak, sardines, herrings, mackerel, caranx, samara, alimasag and alimango shall be prohibited at all season of the year in the reservation.

6. That the destruction of coral reefs and other natural habitats of aquatic animals, except in the interest of safe navigation, shall be prohibited. The commercial gathering of coral rocks, sand and gravel for construction purposes shall be subject to special permits to be issued by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

7. That the operation of trawls of any kind (beam, otter, paranzella and Danish) shall be entirely prohibited at all times of the year within the reservation.

8. The gathering of edible seaweeds, mollusks and echinoderms shall be limited for home consumption and subject to permit issued by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

9. The gathering of commercial shells shall be subject to the following regulations:

It shall be unlawful for any person to take, sell, transfer or have in possession for any purpose whatsoever shells or-valves smaller than the minimum sizes hereinbelow described:

(a) Pinctada maxhna (Jameson)—commonly known as the goldlip pearl shell or "concha blanca"; nineteen centimeters, maximum outside long axis measurement, taken at right angles to the base. (See diagram)

(b) Pinctada margaritifera (Linneaus)—commonly known as the black-lip pearly shell or "concha negra"; eleven centimeters maximum outside long axis measurement, taken at right angles to the base. (See diagram)

(c) Trochus niloticus Linneaus—commonly known as the smooth top shell, "simong" or "trocha" smooth variety; eight centimeters across the least diameter of the base, measured at right angles to the axis. (See diagram)

(d) Trochus noduliferus Lemarck—commonly known as "babae‘ or female and in the export trade as "hirose" shells; five centimeters across the least diameter of the base, taken at right angles to the axis. (See diagram)

[DIAGRAM]

(e) Turbo marmoratus Linneaus—commonly known as green snail shell, turban shell, "lalong" or "bolalo", nine centimeters across the least diameter of the base, measured at right angles to the axis. (See diagram)

Any undersized shell or valve removed from the water through accident, or in ignorance of its size, shall be returned to the water immediately without being opened; otherwise, the offender will be penalized, in accordance with the provisions of the law and this Order, and such offense shall be sufficient cause for the cancellation of the license.

10. Except for scientific and educational purpose, or for propagation, it shall be unlawful to take or catch fry except those prescribed in No. 3 of this regulation or fish eggs of all forms of aquatic animals in the reservation.

11. That all technical installations such as propagation and culture ponds, scientific instruments, live cages, etc, shall not be removed, destroyed or otherwise tampered by any fisherman or individual within the reservation.

The words and terms used in this Proclamation shall be construed as follows:

1. "Baklad" or fish corral means a stationary weir or trap devised to intercept capture fish, consisting of rows of stakes or bamboo, palma brava or other materials fenced with either split bamboo nettings or wire nettings with one or more enclosures usually with easy entrance but difficult exit, and with or without leaders to direct the fish to the catching chambers or purse.

2. "Basnig"—originally, a Visayan term for a conical or box-like bag net of sinamay or cotton webbing, operated from an outrigger or motorboat as a huge dip-net with the aid of light.

3. "Sapyaw"—a round-haul seine made of cotton netting, operating from two boats with the aid of lights.

4. "Dayakos"—a sinamiay filter net operated in river mouths for taking alamang (small shrimps) and hipon (larger shrimps) during flood tide. In Batangas and Laguna de Bay it also refers to beach seines of sinamay or cotton webbing.

5. "Pante"—drift, set, gill or entangling type of nets.

6. "Kawil"—handlines or drop lines operated with or without lights.

7. "Pahila"—or "sibid sibid"—a troll line towed by an outrigger or motorboat.

8. "Kitang"—a set long line with branching lines (gangings) each provided with a hook.

9. "Pabahay" a floating fish trap consisting of a semi-circular enclosure of bamboo nettings, provided with a one-way entrance for fish and buoyed up by bamboo raft: anchored at from 10 to 50 fathoms and operated usually with a light in the evening.

10. "Salambao"—a huge, lift net operated on a lower platform with or without the aid of light.

11. "Bintol"—a small, shallow, square baited lift net for catching crabs.

12. "Bingwit"—a general term for pole and line.

13. "Dala"—a general term for cast net.

14. "Bumbon"—a fish shelter made by tying or piling together bunches of twigs-, bushes, branches of trees, shrubs, and anchoring these on a desired spot.

15. "Sakag" a push net for taking shrimps and other shallow-water form of fish. It is either made of sinamay or cotton netting mounted on a collapsible, triangular frame.

16. "Largarete" a set gill net of cotton twine hung like a curtain from an anchored banca by two bamboo poles attached fore and aft.

17. "Katigbi"—a drive-in net made of a rectangular piece of fine-meshed cotton netting held by two men. Fish are driven by a line of coconut or banana leaves strung along a chain leadline.

18. "Pukot"—a general term for various types of nets operated from the beach to deep water. This includes pukot panggilid (beach seine), pukot panuliñgan and similar kinds of pukot loot.

19. "Talacop" or "kubkob"—a purse or stop seine, the capture being effected by enclosing, pursing and/or impounding.

20. "Trawl"—any kind of bottom drag net pulled by a motor vessel, either opened by a beam, a pair of otter doors, or two towing vessels.

21. "Muro–ani"—a drive-in net made of coarse cotton webbing and operated in submerged reefs. Fish are driven by divers each provided with weighted rope and coconut leaf stringers.

22. "Spawning banak"—shall mean mullets which are sexually mature and which carry ripe eggs and milt and are making seaward migration for the purpose of breeding.

23. "Spawning sabalo"—shall mean the breeder bangos which carry ripe eggs and milt and are ready to spawn.

24. "Kawag–kawag"—are the fry of bañgos (Chanos chanos) measuring not more than 15 millimeters long.

25. "Aligasin"—shall mean the fry and fingerling or young of mullets (banak) belonging to the family Mugilidse.

26. "Siliniasi"—shall mean the fry of herrings and sardines measuring less than three centimeters long.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed.1âwphi1

Done in the City of Manila, this 7th day of April, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and fifty-four and of the Independence of the Philippines, the eighth.

RAMON MAGSAYSAY
President of the Philippines

By the President:

FRED RUIZ CASTRO
Executive Secretary


The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation