Tuesday, September 02, 2008 GenSan tuna producers seek delineation of RP waters
GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- Tuna fishing fleet operators here are asking the Philippine government to immediately delineate the country's territorial waters to protect fishermen from being apprehended in traditional fishing grounds they share with other neighboring countries in Southeast Asia.
"We have a deadline to meet on May 9 next year to define our territorial waters," South Cotabato Boat Owners and Tuna Association president Domingo Teng said last week.
Tuna handline fisher folk and purse seine operators are increasingly straying into waters that the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia commonly share within their 200 respective nautical mile exclusive economic zones (EEZ).
"We keep on asking our government (to define the EEZ). But there are a lot of issues that may require an act from (Philippine) Congress," Teng told a business-media forum last week.
Purse seine operators here acknowledged that it is among critical issues that are confronting the country's tuna industry.
The alleged failure of the Philippine government to submit its delineation map has led to the arrest of hundreds of tuna fisher folks in Indonesia over the last decade.
The Philippines is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in which some 155 countries agreed to the definition of international and territorial waters.
The conference took more than nine years to complete -- from 1973 to 1982.Under the 1982 UNCLOS III treaty, sole rights to exploit natural resources including fishing operations within the 200 nautical mile EEZ from the baseline of signatory countries are recognized under international laws.
Indonesia and the Philippines have overlapping claims over the Sulawesi Sea (formerly Celebes Sea), part of the natural migratory path of tuna fish specie.
The Marore Island, which is part of Indonesian territory, is less than 80 nautical miles from Balut Island, the southernmost town in the eastern side of Mindanao.
Tawi-Tawi is also very proximate to Sabah in Malaysia, which has been claimed by the Philippines government as part of its territory.
Last year, Mindanao Economic Development Council (Medco) head Virgilio Leyritana blamed the Marocs government for its failure to delineate the Philippine territorial waters.3.
