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Monday, November 21, 2005
"New regime" to save local tuna industry
UNLESS it abides with the new international regulatory system, the Philippine tuna industry could collapse in due time.
Dr. Stanley Swerdloff, senior fisheries advisor of the United States Agency for International Development-funded Growth with Equity in Mindanao program, issued this warning recently.
Swerdloff was referring to the newly-established Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, which he described as the "new sheriff in town."
He said that unless the country's tuna industry aligns its strategies with the policies to be enforced by the commission, it could lose access to neighboring tuna-rich waters and place in jeopardy the economic stability of General Santos City and the surrounding areas.
Swerdloff stressed that it is critical for the Philippines to adhere to the commission, as over half of the catches by the local purse seine and handline sectors--estimated at 400,000 metric tons and 60,000 metric tons, respectively--are made outside the country's waters.
"The advent of the commission has changed the rules of the game. Whether we like it or not, access to the region's tuna resources will be dependent on tuna fleet's compliance with this new regime," he said.
According to Swerdloff, the commission or "new regime" is a regional fisheries management organization established by the "Convention for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean".
The convention was signed by 23 countries in September 2000 and "entered into force" in June 2004.
The Philippine Senate ratified the convention in May 2005, enabling the Philippine tuna industry to be represented in the commission's deliberations.
The commission determines total allowable catch, allocate quotas to member-countries, and regulate fishing methods.
Swerdloff pointed out that the long-term survival of the Philippine tuna fleet depends on its "psychological" acceptance of the new regime.
He described the commission as a necessary evil "to protect mankind from his natural propensity to overuse resources."
According to him, while the tuna industry has an annual value of US$400 million, it is actually responsible for almost US$1 billion of the national economy through a "modest multiplier effect of 2.5 for primary industries."
Records showed that tuna industry provides over 100,000 direct jobs, with an additional 50,000 people benefiting from ancillary employment.
For this city, dubbed as the "Tuna Capital of the Philippines," 60 percent of its economy relies on the tuna industry.
Six of the country's eight tuna canneries are operating here. (RBS)
(November 21, 2005 issue)
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