Manila is in the process of drafting a proposal involving the conservation of fisheries resources, particularly tuna, for funding under the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI).
Environment Undersecretary Manuel Gerochi said the Philippines is hoping to get an allocation from the $400 million (USD 8.6 million) which multilateral institutions have pledged to support new activities under the CTI.
Gerochi said Manila’s proposal will be presented during a meeting of senior officials from six Asia-Pacific countries involved in the CTI, which will be held in July this year in Jakarta, Indonesia.
“We might be proposing projects in the Mindanao area. We’re looking at expanding the tuna-tagging project,†he said at the sidelines of the two-day Coral Triangle Initiative Business Summit, which kicked off in Makati City yesterday.
Gerochi said the expansion of the tuna-tagging project could involve the conduct of a comprehensive study of the spawning patterns of tuna in the Philippines.
“We will be focusing initially on tuna because it is a principal food source,†he said.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) oversees the tuna-tagging project. It is an initiative of the secretariat of the Pacific Community based in New Caledonia and funded by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.
The project seeks to provide better information on fishery exploitation rates and population sizes in the Western and Central Pacific. The data gathered will then allow the improvement of regional stock assessment for the big-eye, skipjack and yellow-fin species. Gerochi noted that the $400 million which multilateral institutions including the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, and the United States government have committed has not yet been taken up entirely by countries in the CTI subregion.
The Coral Triangle is the world’s richest marine area, containing 76 percent of all known coral species, 37 percent of all known coral reef fish species and 53 percent of the world’s coral reefs.
It is found within the territories of six countries: Malaysia, Indonesia, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Solomon Islands.
In May 2009, leaders of these countries adopted a regional plan which outlines activities to conserve the resources of the Coral Triangle during a meeting held in Manado, Indonesia. Leaders stressed the need for national strategies for the sustainable management of coastal and marine ecosystems.
