Conservation, Fishing Access Top Issues For Philippine Tuna Congressff

Concerns on dwindling tuna stocks and moves to forge fishing access with other countries are among the top issues cited for discussions in this year’s national tuna congress, organizers said.

Hundreds of local and foreign participants are expected to attend the affair dubbed “Managing Our Tuna Resource: Exploring Opportunities and Alternatives.”

“By holding this annual event, the congress has brought significant milestones in areas of policy advocacy and has strengthened our tuna industry’s competitiveness,” said Marfenio Y. Tan, president of the Socsksargen Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries Inc.

Considered the “Tuna Capital of the Philippines,” this city has been hosting the congress that attracted top government and business leaders in the domestic and foreign tuna industry circuit and allied industries.

Among the key gains of holding the yearly tuna congress is the country’s membership to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, a fishing regulatory body in the Pacific Ocean, Tan said.

Past tuna congresses helped improved the capabilities of the industry players for good handling and manufacturing practices. It also helped in the passage of significant competitiveness policies such as the Handline Fishing Law, he added.

“All of these key accomplishments have greatly contributed towards the achievement of a sustainable and competitive Philippine tuna industry,” Tan noted.

Now on its 10th year, plenary discussions will focus on issues of resource management sustainability and fishing access with other countries, which the local tuna industry players have been seeking in the past several years.

The conference will also raise awareness on the effects of global warming and climate change in the tuna industry.

Other topics to be discussed include exploring the opportunities and challenges brought about by market trends, including windows of opportunities for aquaculture and tuna farming.

The conference is slated on September 3 to 4, in time for the city’s annual celebration of its weeklong tuna festival.

Dwindling tuna stocks in the high seas has become a major concern for industry stakeholders globally, abetted by the rising prices of fuel that hiked fishing operational costs and reduced profit margins of local producers.

Recently, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and six other Pacific nations banned tuna boats from fishing in portions of their international waters reportedly the size of Alaska.

The ban on two areas of the Pacific Commons, stretches of international waters surrounded by coastal waters belonging to the Pacific nations, aims to conserve bigeye and yellowfin tuna stocks.

Stanley N. Swerdloff, senior fisheries adviser of the Growth with Equity in Mindanao, said the move of the Pacific countries was a result of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission’s failure to come up with regulations during a meeting in December.

Swerdloff added that the commission considers the formulation of governing rules for fishing activities within the Pacific Ocean as top priority.