35 000 cannery workers, fishermen jobless in Zamboanga Some 35,000 sardine cannery workers and fishermen will be jobless

for three months in this city starting next month. The B rea of !isheries and "# atic $eso rces %B!"$& will im'lement on S nday, (ec ), its three months closed season for the fishing of sardines in the waters off and aro nd the Zamboanga *enins la, the Basilan Straits and the S l sea as 'art of its conser+ation efforts to 'reser+e marine reso rces in the area. The ban is only on the catching of sardines and mackerel and does not incl de other fish s'ecies. Small time fishermen with their bancas are not co+ered by the ban. B!"$ $egional (irector "sis *ere, said the closed season will s s'end the o'eration of some )5 commercial fishing fleets which 'ro+ides the raw materials for the )- sardine canneries in this city. The sardine canneries located at the west coastal barangays of $ecodo ' to "yala , some -0 kilometers west of the city 'ro'er ha+e to sto' work for three months in the absence of raw materials for their 'rod ction. St dies ha+e shown that sardines s'awn d ring the months of (ecember and the ban will allow them to 'rod ce more offs'ring that will start mat ring by the time the ban ends on .arch -. The closed season will not only affect the workers b t their families as well for three months. *ere, does not antici'ate any 'roblem in the im'lementation of this closed season from (ec ) the first day of .arch, /since we ha+e already gone thro gh this exercise for the 'ast two years.0 The B!"$ has em'loyed a few h ndred factory and fishery fleet workers in mangro+e tree re'lanting 'rograms b t since most of the mangro+es near the city 'ro'er ha+e been re'lanted d ring the 'ast two 'eriod of closed seasons, any new 'roject will ha+e to be ndertaken far away from the city where tho sands of mangro+e areas need re'lanting. 1nly a few h ndred male workers can work in tree re'lanting 'rogram while the tho sands of female workers will look for other tem'orary jobs. The do,en canneries and the fishing fleet will kee' skeleton work forces for maintenance of the factories and the fishing boats b t the majority of these workers will be forced to stay home or look for jobs somewhere. %!23451 . S"5T1S&