OVERFISHING could sink the country’s tuna industry and create massive unemployment in Mindanao, a senator warned on Wednesday.

In 2007, the Philippines became the world’s fourth biggest producer of fresh and processed tuna at 500,000 tons. But last year, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero said the country slid to seventh as production declined by 22 percent.

“Overfishing has led to the environmental degradation of our coral reefs. With its inability to strictly enforce fishing laws, which has led to continuous encroachment by big foreign fishing boats, the national government has clearly shown its lack of vision for the tuna industry,” Sen. Escudero said in a statement.

The tuna industry employs 100,000 workers and is centered in General Santos City, where six tuna canneries are located.

In February this year, the sale of fresh, frozen, and canned tuna generated $31.27 million, which was 57 percent more than during the same month last year based on data from the National Statistics Office.

Since 2000, the Philippines has been producing around 400,000-500,000 tons of fresh and processed tuna every year, generating $280 million in annual export revenues on average, with US and Japan as main export markets.

“One way to address the problem of overfishing could be through self-regulation by limiting our catch to restore tuna stocks in the waters off southern Mindanao,” Escudero stressed.

He said the country could emulate the steps undertaken by the European Union (EU) last year to restore blue fin tuna stock in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

The EU decided to implement quotas in blue fin tuna catch in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, shortened the fishing period to four months, and imposed a freeze on fishing capacity. (PR)