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Monday, March 24, 2008
Tuna crisis looms
GENERAL SANTOS -- The fishing industry, which is the backbone of local economy here, has to bow down with the dwindling catch caused by abnormal weather condition.
Marfenio Tan, president of the Socsksargen Fishing Federation and Allied Industries (SFFAI), told Sun.Star General Santos that in the history of fishing, this is the period they considered as the hardest.
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"The production hit the lowest level ever. We have never experienced this before," Tan, a main industry player for more than 30 years, lamented.
Mayor Pedro Acharon Jr. confirmed the decrease in fish catch here during interview with reporters earlier this week.
But the reason, Acharon said, was not just a drastic change in the weather pattern, but also due to strict implementation by the Indonesian government of its fishery laws.
Reduction
Tan claimed that based on their records, he found out that since January up to the present, fish catch dwindled by about six to 10 percent.
In fact, he said, fish landing at the General Santos City Fish Port posted a 19 percent decrease.
More than 300 metric tons of high-grade tuna are being unloaded daily at the fish port.
All fishing firms were required to unload their catch at the fish port as per memorandum of agreement entered into by and between the fishing association and the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA), which runs the fish port facility.
There were reports, however, that some fishing operators continue to unload their catch in their own private fish ports.
Causes
Tan admitted that the first four months of every year are considered lean months in fishing.
According to him, this is the time of year when species of fish, particularly tuna, migrate or find a safe place to spawn.
Catch, he said, would again start to pick up from May onward.
The fishing tycoon said they had experienced lean months in the past, but the catch had never before been as sparse as now.
He cited two causes for the dwindling of fish catch. First, water temperature went up by about one degree as the water temperature monitoring gadget used by every fishing vessel shows.
Second, water current reversed direction. Formerly, Tan said, water current was from East to West. Now, it is from West to East.
As a fisherman, Tan said he knew that changes in weather pattern would affect not just the behavior but also the food chain of sea creatures.
Added burden
The increasing fuel price is exacerbating the burden being experienced by industry players today.
Tan disclosed that in the early 70's, they used to fish just 30 to 100 nautical miles away from the mouth of Sarangani Bay.
That was only about three to five hours travel time and they were spending some P540 per month for about 1,800-liter fuel consumption of a set of fishing vessels -- one mother boat, three carrier boats, and one ranger boat.
Now, he said, they are spending about P720,000 for fuel alone for the same operation.
At present, fishing vessels operating within the Philippine's Exclusive Economic Zone (EZZ) have to travel about 37 hours before reaching the fishing grounds, and out of the 70 percent production cost, about 30 percent goes to fuel expenses.
Political will
Tan believes that strong political will on the part of the country's political leaders is needed for the sustenance and survival of commercial fishing in the country.
"Our government must strictly implement the environmental and fishery laws of the country," Tan stressed.
He said environmental destruction brought about by urban development and lost of forest cover is killing our seas and triggering abnormal weather patterns.
Accordingly, the demand for fish consumption keeps on increasing while the supply dwindles. This leads to over fishing.
There is an existing regulation mandating the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Bfar) to regulate the number of fishing vessels operating in
Philippine fishing grounds to avoid over fishing.
However, Tan said, this has not yet been implemented as the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) continues to accept fishing vessels registration.
Based on the data from the SFFAI, there were a total of 1,500 commercial fishing vessels operating nationwide.
Out of that figure, 200 were registered as mother boats of "Unay", while the rest were either service (carrier) boats or ranger (security) boats.
Also, out of the 200 mother boats, 150 were owned by fishing operators from General Santos City, while other fishers from other parts of the country owned the rest, said Tan.
"To help sustain the industry, we in the fishing sector must avoid catching juvenile fish and help curb illegal fishing particularly in domestic waters, where we can find the fish sanctuaries," he said.
He also suggested that fishery authorities must arrest fishermen using fine mesh fishing nets.
Under the new fishery regulations, mesh size was increased to 3.5 inches to avoid trapping juvenile fish.
Tan noted that fine mesh nets are in abundance at the General Santos Fish Port Complex but the Bfar is not doing something about it.
Off limits
Another problem being confronted by the fishing sector here at present is the declaration by the Indonesian government of its fishing grounds as "off limits" to Filipino fishermen.
Tan revealed that until now industry players could hardly penetrate Indonesian territorial waters due to non-ratification by the Indonesian government of the bilateral fishing agreement. (Aquiles Zonio/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Zamboanga. (March 24, 2008 issue)
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