TUNA is the country's top export commodity, according to the recent report released by the National Statistics Office.

Despite the economic crisis the world is currently experiencing, tuna products (like fresh tuna, frozen tuna, poached tuna and canned tuna) remain to be in big demand abroad.

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"Tuna as a food commodity is highly in demand in the world's markets, especially in the United States where most of our tuna products are shipped," pointed out Domingo Ang, chief executive officer of Davao Marina Tuna Corporation. "They are a basic necessity even in a global recession."

Since 2005, export of Philippine tuna to the US market has been declining. However, data from the US National Marine Fisheries Services reported that in last year's first quarter, tuna exports broke the slowing trend with tuna shipments racking up 9.934 metric tons, rising 22 percent over the same period the previous year.

This is good news, indeed. "The Philippine tuna industry is an important element in the country's economy contributing over 100,000 direct jobs and US$156,938 million in foreign exchange earnings," a position paper prepared by the Laguna-based Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research Development (PCAMRD) notes. "Direct dependents include fishers, processors, canners, exporters and traders."

According to the Foodmarket Exchange, the main tuna fishing nations are concentrated in Asia, with Japan and Taiwan floating the main fleets.

Other important tuna fishing nations in Asia are Indonesia and South Korea. Spain and France are also important tuna fishing countries, with their ships fishing primarily in the Indian Ocean.

In Southeast Asia, the southern Philippines is an important tuna producing area, particularly General Santos City and Davao.

Tunas are migratory oceanic fishes, which are capable of attaining large sizes. It also includes tuna-like species such as billfish, swordfish, and marlin.

In the Philippines, twenty-one species have been recorded. "But only six species are commercially important," said Dr. Rafael D. Guerrero III, PCAMRD executive director.

Among the shallow-water/small tunas, the most commercially important are the frigate tuna or "tulingan" (Auxis thazard), the eastern little tuna or "kawa-kawa" (Euthynnus affinis), and the bullet tuna (Auxis rochei). Most of these tunas are consumed locally.

The important species among the deep-water/big tunas are the yellowfin tuna or "albacora" (Thunnus albacores), the big-eye tuna or “tambakol” (Thunnus obesus), and the skipjack or “gulyasan” (Katsuwonus petamis). These are caught using commercial fishing boats with purse seines and ring nets. Small fishermen catch these species using handlines (hook and line).

Tuna is found in all of the major temperate and tropical oceans of the world. The western and central portions of the Pacific Oceans of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Statistical Area 71 contain the biggest tuna resources among the world’s oceans.

The Philippines straddles FAO Area 71 in which half of the world’s yellowfin tuna is harvested.

"Tunas are caught throughout Philippine waters," said Dr. Guerrero, "but the most productive fishing grounds are the Sulu Sea, Moro Gulf and waters extending to the North Celebes Sea. Viable tuna fisheries also exist in waters off Western Negros, as well as Northwestern and Southern Luzon."

Deep-water or oceanic tunas are believed to be breeding in the Moro Gulf when 3-4 years of age. The juveniles (less than one year old) stay in shallow waters (inshore) until they swim out to the West Pacific or Indian Ocean depending on the current. This is the reason why the big tunas are called "fishes without a country.” They have also been referred to as migratory or straddling stocks.

"The Philippines is in a strategic position because of its proximity to offshore fishing grounds," said Dr. Guerrero, referring to the West Pacific. "It also has an established tuna canning industry and skilled fishermen."

In recent years, the world tuna industry has undergone remarkable expansion and structural changes. In the 1970s, the five major tuna processing countries were the United States, Japan, Spain, France and Italy. In the 1980s, there was increasing participation by Asian countries like Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.

The rest of Asia, especially the Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia, also made significant contribution in the world tuna trade.

The FAD (Fish Aggregating Device) locally known as payao is "the most important factor that triggered the phenomenal of the tuna fishing industry," said the PCAMRD position paper. "The tuna fisheries became the largest and most valuable fisheries in the Philippines during the mid-1970s when payao was introduced."

On payao, Dr. Guerrero explains: "The device is a floating structure made of bamboo and coconut fronds that is anchored to the bottom. It attracts small fishes that tunas feed on. Fishing boats encircle the structures with their nets to catch them."

As a result of payao, the annual tuna production has increased substantially from less than 10,000 tons in 1970 to about 300,000 tons level in the 1990s. During 2003, tuna production was 483,314 tons or 24.8 percent of total Philippine capture fisheries production.

"Tunas are marketed worldwide in the international market in the form of tuna flakes, katsubushi, canned tuna, fresh/chilled/frozen tuna, but the bulk of tunas are imported and exported in canned form," states the PCAMRD position paper. About 95 percent of the major species of tuna are sold and consumed in canned form.

Unfortunately, the Philippine tuna industry is facing various problems. For one, the country is using obsolete fishing vessels that cannot compete with the modern fishing fleets of Taiwan, Japan, and the United States. New canneries have recently been built in France, Mexico, and Ecuador.

"Unless the Philippines improves the condition and quality of its fishing fleet and tuna canneries, the country risks losing out in future world markets," observed the Growth with Equity in Mindanao, a program sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development.

The big demand has turned tuna stocks on the verge of depletion. The popularity of Japanese sushi in the western world is putting pressure on tuna populations, turning them into endangered species.

In London, for instance, many sushi restaurants serve bluefin tuna, the world’s most popular fish after the cavier-producing sturgeon. The fatty underbelly of the fish, often on the menu as toro, has become Japan’s cavier and can command prices of up to US$100 a plate.

"Overfishing or the catching of the fish with no size and catch limits is depleting our tuna in the country," deplored Dr. Guerrero. On how the problem could be solved, he suggests, "There should be strict enforcement of regulations for catching net mesh size and use of FADs."

But even if that will be strictly observed, one problem that can't be solved locally is climate change. The Earth's rising temperature is reportedly driving tuna species out of the reach of fishermen, according to Mariano Fernandez, manager of Ocean Canning Corporation in General Santos City.

Six of the country's seven operating canneries are located in General Santos employing around 15,000 regular and casual workers and 2,000 more in the fresh and processed tuna production. Its main export destinations are the United States, European Union, and Japan.

In an interview with a daily, Fernandez explained that as tuna are now more difficult to catch, production has slowed down. He surmised the warming temperature of water has been driving tuna species deeper underwater making it difficult for fishermen to catch them. "It's difficult to catch them because they go deeper. Our fishing nets could no longer reach them," he pointed out.

The future of tuna industry in the Philippines does not look good. Dr. Guerrero, therefore, urges: "We have to allow our tuna fisheries to recover." This can only be done if Filipino fishermen "improve their natural populations by limiting fishing pressure and strictly applying regulatory measures."

The tuna has been commercially promoted as being the "chicken of the sea" because of its commonness and popularity in people's diet worldwide. Tuna sandwich, for instance, is a mainstay of many restaurants. Tuna meat is rich in omega-3 (polyunsaturated) fatty acids that build up high-density lipids or "good cholesterol." Consuming tuna is said to be effective in preventing heart attacks.