Tuna Stakeholders Talk How To Shape Sustainable Fishing ff

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)Region 12 gathered the stakeholders of the major tuna industry last January 4 to discuss the requirements of Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) on the long term conservation and sustainable use of highly migratory fish stocks in the western and central Pacific Ocean.

BFAR Regional Director Sani D. Macabalang opened the meeting with the statement “This first meeting of 2008 is a very good start of the year. This is in accordance with the theme of the tuna congress which is to be globally competitive.”

BFAR Central Office Assistant Director Atty. Benjamin Tabios Jr. spearheaded the discussion, presenting the BFAR Handline Logsheet and Purse Seiners Ring Net Logsheet sample forms as catch reports required by WCPFC. These forms are to be used in data collection which will serve as the basis for effective conservation management measures and policy formulation in order to ensure long term sustainability of the tuna fisheries.

Marfenio Y. Tan, President of SOCSKSARGEN Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries Inc. (SFFAII), said that the tuna industry is suffering because of the lack of resources for management and also because global warming added a threat.

Tuna production in General Santos City has been steadily declining and fishermen have to fish further out into the high seas to capture tuna. The tuna industry supports more than 50,000 direct jobs and many more in allied industries.