Saturday, November 24, 2007 Bfar crafts fishing guidelines
IN A bid to conserve dwindling tuna stocks, the government has proposed the regulation of fishing nets and putting a ceiling on allowable catch for juvenile tunas, an official said.
Sani Macabalang, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources -- Central Mindanao director, said the agency is drafting guidelines that will govern the catching of stocks used by tuna canned good producers.
Under the government proposal, fishing nets should have a minimum meshed-size of three inches and the imposition of a 10 percent ceiling on small tuna catches for every fishing expedition otherwise it will be declared illegal.
Small tuna refers to those weighing below 500 grams for such varieties like yellowfin, big eye and skipjack.
If left unchecked, players have feared that widespread catching of juvenile stocks would cause the collapse of the local tuna industry.
At least six tuna canneries are based in General Santos City. These canneries normally use young tuna stocks with an estimated average weight of five kilos each in their production.
"There is a definite need to balance exploitation and conservation of tuna," said Macabalang in a meeting here early this week with tuna industry players.
During the meeting, the National Tuna Management Plan was also discussed. Bayani Fredeluces, executive director of the Socsksargen Federation of Fishing Associations and Allied Industries, Inc., said that industry players have pushed to increase the minimum meshed-size from three inches to 3.5 inches.
On the 10 percent ceiling, however, Fredeluces preferred to defer comments.
"We are supporting conservation moves for the sustainability of the tuna industry," he said in an interview on Wednesday, also referring to the National Tuna Management Plan.
But he lamented that the management plan, formulated in 2004, has yet to be implemented until now.
Specific Administrative Fisheries Orders (FAOs) can be issued based on the management plan but nothing of that sort has taken place up to now since the National Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council has yet to convene, Fredeluces explained.
Bfar could not issue any FAOs based on the management plan without the blessing of the council, he added.
Bfar national director Malcolm Sarmiento, Jr., has said that the tuna management plan was formulated in line with the United Nations Agreement on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, to which the Philippines is a signatory.
"The world's waters are coming under increasing regulations at both national and international levels. [Within the last few years], there have been increasing efforts to establish effective regulation and control of fishing efforts in all areas, whether inside or outside of national jurisdiction," he said.
Under the plan, estimated annual total allowable catch for skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) must not exceed 150,000 metric tons; Yellofin tuna (Thunnus albacares), 110,000 MT; and bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus), 7,500 tons.
"Fishing operations shall be terminated when total allowable catch is reached," the plan said.
Estimated catch last year for skipjack is at 132,000 MT, 110,100 MT for yellowfin, and 9,000 MT for bigeye, it added.
