Saturday, October 11, 2008 Bluefin tuna farming nixed
THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is considering the possibility of promoting and funding bluefin tuna sea ranching research in the hope of producing tuna fishers instead of hunters.
However, the proposal received a lukewarm response from local government and tuna industry leaders in General Santos City, stressing that tuna ranching is not suitable to the country's waters.
Agriculture Undersecretary Jesus Emmanuel M. Paras said trailblazing a bluefin tuna management program is being seriously considered with the possible help from the Spanish government.
Marfenio Y. Tan, president of the Socksargen Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries Inc., noted that tuna culturing would not be feasible in Philippine waters.
"In the first place, it is very expensive. Our [sea] waters are not suited for tuna culturing," Tan, who owns various purse seine vessels, said.
Sea ranching of bluefin, a high-value tuna species, has been taking place in Italy, Algeria, Croatia, France, Libya, Morocco and Spain.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said that sea ranching is a "cause of concern," since it involves using juvenile fish as "seed stock" in tuna-fattening operations.
Sea ranching or captured-based aquaculture is a practice in which tuna are caught in the wild and then penned and fattened using aquaculture techniques prior to harvesting, it added.
South Cotabato Representative Darlene R. Antonino-Custodio said that tuna ranching would be difficult in the country since it has not been tested yet locally, noting that tuna does not thrive on manufactured feedstock but on raw fish.
"Bluefin tuna also prefers cooler water. They are not endemic in our seas," she said.
Filipino producers of large tuna mostly catch yellowfin tuna, which has less value than a bluefin.
Yellowfin tuna are also exported; when sold in the local markets in General Santos City, the price ranges from as low as P120 per kilo.
On the other hand, in Japan, where demand for sushi and sashimi is high, a single large adult bluefin tuna can reportedly sell for US$50,000 or more.
Tan also doubted that culturing yellowfin tuna would be a hit in the country, noting that it will be an expensive venture.
Custodio said that no successful breeding of yellowfin has been achieved so far in the country.
In 2005, FAO estimated that production of bluefin tuna via sea-ranching runs around 25 000 tons a year, up from 10, 000 tons in the previous five years.
Captures of "seed stock" may be going unreported, handicapping efforts to assess the stocks' status, it said. (BSS)
