Monday, December 11, 2006 Special law on handline fishing gets Senate nod
BIG yellowfin tuna producers here on Thursday hailed the Senate for finally passing on third and final reading a proposed special law for handline fishing that would narrow down the cost of fees and other licenses for the country's handline tuna fishers and boat owners.
The approval by the senators of the bill on Monday caught industry leaders by "sweet surprise" as it was only Wednesday last week that members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food approved the provisions of the proposed law.
Roger Lim Sr., vice chairman of the Alliance of Tuna Handliners, described the Senate's approval of the bill as a "victory of handline tuna fishermen."
"The future of the handline tuna industry is looking bright because [once the bill is signed into law by President Gloria Arroyo] it eases the limitations set upon us," he said.
The alliance is composed of over 2,500 large pump boats that employ at least 40,000 fishermen, with an annual landing catch of over 30,000 metric tons of high value tuna worth P4.5 billion, industry records showed.
With a special law on handline fishing Lim said the handline tuna sector would eventually become a "sunshine industry" as it will push the government to finally help marginalized handline fishermen.
Handline fisher folks employ hook and line method of catching big and adult yellowfin tuna, a method that is proven to be sustainable and environment friendly.
Neil Cachuela, head of the Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) office in this city, said the Senate secretariat informed them that the bill hurdled the third reading during its plenary session last December 4.
Bayani Fredeluces, executive director of the Socsksargen Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries, Inc., said earlier that 14 of 17 members of the agriculture and food committee supported the bill co-sponsored by Senators Ramon Magsaysay, Jr., Mar Roxas and Senate President Manuel Villar.
Last week, Magsaysay delivered a sponsorship speech at the plenary session for Senate Bill 2522 or "An Act Defining Handline Fishing, Providing Effective Regulations and for Other Purposes."
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is supportive of the bill, is expected to sign the law anytime.
The House version (Handline Fishing Law or House Bill 4067) has been approved earlier through the sponsorship of South Cotabato First District Representative Darlene Antonino-Custodio. (BSS)
