Monday, August 15, 2005
Tuna farming project pushed
WITH the negotiations for an extension of the country's bilateral fishing agreement with Indonesia still hanging, fishery officials urged the local tuna industry sector to pursue the proposed yellowfin tuna farming project along the Sarangani Bay.
Sani Macabalang, regional director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Region 12, said tuna farming is currently the most viable alternative in ensuring a stable supply of tuna for the area over the next decade.
He said local tuna catches has been dwindling over last few years due to the declining fish stocks within the country's waters and the limited access of local fishing fleets to the tuna-rich fishing grounds along the Pacific seas.
Industry records showed that the catch of the country's tuna handline fleet, estimated at 3,000 boats, has dropped to 15,000 metric tons (MT) a year from 30,000 MT three years ago due to the lack of fishing areas.
"We need to develop our own resource base since we cannot really depend much on bilateral fishing arrangements," Macabalang said.
The Philippines, through BFAR and the Department of Foreign Affairs, has been negotiating with Indonesia for the extension of a fishing agreement that granted local tuna fishing fleets an access to Indonesia's fishing areas.
The fishing deal, which was forged in early 2002, will expire in December.
Indonesian officials earlier declared that it is no longer keen on extending the bilateral fishing agreements it had signed with several countries, including the Philippines, in a bid to protect its tuna industry.
Macabalang said they have been looking for possible investors for the proposed tuna farming project, which would be a pioneering venture in the country, but there have been to takers yet.
Last year, Sarangani Governor Miguel Dominguez personally presented the project to the tuna industry players here.
Dominguez said Sarangani is suitable for yellowfin tuna farming in a controlled environment, being an identified spawning ground for the valuable fish species.
The bay area off the province's six coastal towns provides the best prospective locations for tuna aquaculture, he added.
Fishery studies showed that yellowfin tuna spawns in the bay and then stays there for four to five months before migrating to deeper waters. (Allen V. Estabillo)
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(August 15, 2005 issue)
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