The high seas that were closed are bounded by Palau, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. The closure is part of the conservation management measure 2008-01 adopted by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) and titled “Conservation and Management Measure for Bigeye and Yellowfin Tuna in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.â€
A purse seiner is a boat that uses an encircling net that targets tuna but also catches their young or juveniles. To have a sustainable fishery, the fish must be allowed to mature and reproduce at least once before they are caught.
The western and central portions of the Pacific Ocean, identified as Statistical Area 71 (See Figure 3) by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), contain the biggest tuna resources among the world’s oceans. The Philippines straddles Statistical Area 71 in which half of the world’s yellowfin tuna is harvested.
‘Tulingan,’ ‘bariles’
In the Philippines, there are 21 tuna and tuna-like species that have been recorded but only 6 are considered commercially important.
These consist of the shallow-water and small species like the frigate tuna or “tulingan†(Auxis thazard), eastern little tuna or “kawa-kawa†(Euthynnus affinis), bullet tuna (Auxis rochei) and the deep-water and big species like the yellowfin or “bariles/albacare†(Thunnus albacares), bigeye or “tambaklad/tambakol†(Thunnus obesus), and skipjack or “gulyasan†(Katsuwonus pelamis).
Tunas are caught throughout Philippine waters but the most productive fishing grounds are found in the Sulu Sea, Moro Gulf and waters extending to the North Celebes Sea. Viable tuna fisheries also exist in waters off western Negros and in northwestern and southern Luzon.
Tunas are caught by commercial fishing boats using purse seines and ring nets. Small municipal fishers catch them using handlines or hook and lines.
Production
Philippine tuna fishery was initially developed to supply local demand. But since 1975, this has expanded to become the largest fishery in the country through the use of the highly efficient purse seine method in combination with fish aggregating devices locally known as “payaos.â€
The tuna fleet consists of purse seiners and ring netters that range from less than 100 gross tons (GT) to super seiners of 1,600 GT with an aggregate tonnage of more than 25,000 GT. Tuna production increased from 25,300 metric tons (MT) in 1974 to a yearly average of 175,000 MT.
The output of 8 canneries in Mindanao is estimated to be 250,000 MT. They are mainly supplied by landings from Philippine purse seiners and ring netters, both local vessels and via carriers from overseas operations.
In the 1970s, tuna fishing was confined to the country’s territorial and archipelagic waters, and the exclusive economic zone. Fishing was concentrated in the Sulu Sea, Mindanao Sea, Moro Gulf, Celebes Sea and adjacent waters of western Luzon.
In the latter years as local catch rates declined, Philippine tuna fishing fleets expanded and operated increasingly in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, notably waters off Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, including the adjacent high seas.
In recent years, the world tuna industry has undergone expansion and structural changes. In the 1970s, the five major tuna-processing countries were the United States, Japan, Spain, France and Italy.
The top three tuna harvesters in WCPFC in 2008 included the Philippines (435,689 MT), Japan (402,874 MT) and Indonesia (322,170 MT).
Impact of ban
The immediate impact of the ban will be on Philippine purse seiners which will not be able to fish in the closed areas in the Pacific. This could render many of these purse seiners idle, resulting in the layoff of workers on these boats.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said some 500 fishers would be directly affected while the tuna fishing industry indicated that the unemployed fishers could rise to several thousands. Workers in the canning factories can also lose their jobs if these companies shut down. It has been estimated that 50,000 families that depend on the tuna fishing and canning industry could be adversely affected by the ban. The inability of the purse seiners to fish in the tuna-rich areas can also be detrimental to the local economy because tuna exports average 400,000 MT a year and valued at $280 million.
Options
The government should also look into the reflagging of Philippine vessels, or registering boats in a foreign country, which may cause job losses to our fishers if they hire foreign nationals to man the boats. A long-term plan should also be drawn by the government to cope with the WCPFC objective of reducing fishing effort [days fished] for tuna.
The tuna fishing industry will have to look for alternative areas to prevent the idling of purse seiners. One area will be the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ) although this site may not be as lucrative as in the closed fishing areas in the Pacific. Through bilateral agreements with various Pacific island-countries, this will allow Philippine purse seiners to fish within the EEZ of these nations.
For the canning companies, the supply of tuna may no longer be sufficient to meet their requirements. To remain open, they have to shift to other fish species or other commodities like fruit and vegetables. In the processing of fish, these factories may use cultured species like milkfish and tilapia since the raw materials are assured and stable. However, the markets for processed cultured species may have to be developed first.
Long-term outlook
Our tuna fishing industry will have to adapt to this regime of increasing regulation for its survival. It must realize and accept that the present rate of exploitation is not sustainable and may result in the collapse of fish stocks.
The industry will have to develop a program which consists of decreasing fleet capacity and nonreplacement of aging boats to prevent further losses.
(Farisal Bagsit and Ruby Napata are researchers, and Carlos Baylon, Ricardo Babaran, Gerald Quinitio and Enrico Villoso are faculty members of the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, UP Visayas. Rodelio Subade is a faculty member of the College of Arts and Sciences, UP Visayas.)
