The Philippines, the world’s second-largest tuna producer, is looking into the possibility of saturating the vast Chinese market with local tuna products, and take over the lead position as the world’s largest tuna catcher from Taiwan.
Philippines Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said his agency and the Department of Trade and Industry have been working together to infiltrate China, whose population was estimated at 1.2 billion in 2000. “We are developing new markets, like China, for Philippine tuna,†he told participants in the recent Sixth National Tuna Congress.
According to Yap, China offers a growing market that tuna exporters can explore. He said that at present, the main markets for the country’s canned tuna products are the United States and the European Union, accounting for 80 percent of the country’s canned tuna exports with an earning equivalent of at least $160 million yearly.
Processed tuna sashimi, which usually ends up in Japan, as well as in the US and EU, rakes in some $50 million in export earnings for the country each year.
Yap said the government and the tuna industry leaders have been working to make the Philippines the world’s top tuna producer by 2020. Taiwan is currently the world’s top tuna catcher, with the Philippines trailing with a total production of 300,000 metric tons a year, according to Yap. The country’s tuna industry reportedly employs 100,000 workers and has a fleet of nearly 4,000 large, medium and small seiners and pump boats. Of the nine canneries in the country, seven are located in this city. Ten of the country’s 15 sashimi-processing plants can also be found here, making this city as the undisputed Tuna Capital of the Philippines.
To surpass Taiwan, Yap stressed the importance of cooperation among the players in the industry in preserving the country’s marine resources. “There is a need to educate people in the coastal communities on conservation and exploitation of marine resources,†he noted. Yap said they are closely working with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in conserving the country’s marine resources, as this is crucial to the sustainability of the fisheries sector. He urged tuna-fishers to strictly observe the ban on small-mesh nets to allow juvenile tuna to reach their desired maturity. For further sustainability of the tuna industry, Yap said the agency, through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, backed the development of a national tuna management plan, which will put a cap on the number of fishing boats, require a vessel monitoring system and set standards for fishing gear and reporting systems.
The Philippines has been an active participant of the seven-year Multilateral High-Level Conference on Management of Migratory Fish Species, which resulted in the formation of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.