Tuna industry players in General Santos, The Philippines have endorsed the proposed zoning of the Sarangani Bay in a bid to properly establish a system on the management and use of its waters and the coastal areas. Most canneries are located along the bay.
Ian Fredeluces, technical assistant of the Socsksargen Federation of Fishing Associations and Allied Industries, Inc. (SFFAAII), said they will lobby for the approval of a zoning plan being prepared by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which specifically delineates the bay area based on its uses.
He said the proposed zoning system, which was based on a study made by the DENR's Southern Mindanao Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project, was endorsed earlier by a multisectoral task force composed stakeholders of the Sarangani Bay which includes SFFAAII.
Fredeluces said the proposed zoning plan initially apportioned Sarangani Bay based on the existing industrial areas, marine sanctuaries, aquaculture and fishing zones and mangrove areas. “We were consulted about the proposal and we saw it as an effective solution regarding some problems about the proper use of the bay,†he told Philippine press. Fredeluces said the zoning practically resolves the problem on the stringent environmental standards set for various industries based in the coastlines of this city and nearby Sarangani province, which form part of the declared Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape.
Former President Fidel V. Ramos declared the Sarangani Bay and a portion of the municipal waters of Maitum, Kiamba and Maasim towns in Sarangani as protected seascape through Presidential Proclamation 756 issued in March 1996. Such proclamation was based on the declaration of the bay as one of the priority areas for the conservation of marine and mangrove resources based on a study conducted by the DENR in collaboration with the Conservation International and the University of the Philippines' Center for Integrative and Development Studies.
But the SFFAAII, through the National Tuna Industry Council, earlier called for a review of PP 756 as it covered the existing industrial zones of this city and Sarangani province. It cited that most industries within the bay area, especially the tuna canneries and fishing companies, could not comply with the water effluent or waste standard of 30 parts per million (ppm) as required in protected seascape areas.
But Fredeluces said the zoning system will solve such problem as it will also properly determine the water effluent standard for the different zones.
He said the 30 ppm standard will only be imposed on the marine sanctuaries. Industrial zones will follow the 120 to 150 ppm standards. “A water sampling and study on this matter had been conducted by the EMB (Environmental Management Bureau) regional office to support the zoning plan,†he said.
Aside from resolving such issue, Fredeluces said the zoning plan will also benefit other stakeholders of the Sarangani Bay as it “respects the existing uses†of the bay area. He said the industries will now only be confined to the declared industrial zones while the marine and mangrove areas will also be conserved and protected. “This appears to be just fair for everybody since we would be able to accelerate the development of our industrial zones and at the same time address some environmental issues,†he added.
The Regional Development Council (RDC) of Region XII earlier pushing for the revision of PP 756 to exclude from the coverage of the protected seascape the declared industrial zones in this city and nearby coastal areas. Such move, which was aimed to enhance the growth of the area's agro-industrial and fishery sector, especially the multimillion tuna industry, was based on a recommendation made by the DENR task force which reviewed PP 756.