GENERAL SANTOS CITY ? Tuna fishermen have incurred losses of at least P200 million during the past two months because of pirates and bad weather at sea, an industry official said Friday.

Roger Lim, president of the Alliance of Tuna Handliners in the South Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-Sarangani-General Santos City (Socsksargen) area, said his group thought they could already recover from losses when fuel prices recently started to go down.

?The tuna industry was about to bounce back when another whammy hit us hard. Our boats cannot sail out to sea due to bad weather,? Lim said.

For weeks now, rains have been pelting most parts of Mindanao.

Risks

Lim said since September, each tuna handline boat loses an average of P200,000 in income per month because sailing out to sea was too risky.

There are about 500 tune handline vessels from the Socsksargen area.

?Tuna handline vessels operating in international waters (have been) 100 percent paralyzed since the month of September and those operating in our territorial waters are very careful because of the presence of sea pirates. This is one ticklish issue that we?re trying to address with the help of various government agencies,? Lim said.

He said that there was no remedy for the bad weather but the issue of piracy should be addressed.

Lim said fishing grounds near the provinces of Jolo, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Sarangani, Davao Del Sur and Davao Oriental teem with tuna but fishing operations in these areas are often disrupted by the presence of sea pirates.

He said among the solutions his group thought of against piracy was to ask government to allow them to carry firearms.

?Big tuna are still abundant in our own fishing grounds. There?s no need to go to international fishing grounds if only our territorial waters are safe-guarded against sea marauders,? Lim said.

Alternative

In Davao City, an official of Vitarich Corp. urged fishermen to consider growing the Mekong catfish, which has become so popular abroad that it is now a $750-million business.

?It can be a lucrative option for tilapia and bangus farmers in Mindanao,? Eduardo Lazo, Vitarich business development manager, said.

Currently, only Marilao in Bulacan and Pampanga grow the Mekong fish in the Philippines.

?Right now, we?re still importing it and among the biggest importers are high-end restaurants in Mindanao,? Lazo said.

Dorecita Delima, assistant director of the Department of Trade and Industry in Southern Mindanao, said exporters should venture into the production of the Mekong catfish, also known as Pangasius hypothalamus and Pangasius Pangasidae, because of its high export potential.

Based on data presented by Vitarich, exports of Mekong catfish in 2006 reached as high as $750 million, mainly to Russia, Poland, the whole of Europe, the US and Australia.

Quick returns

?It?s a fast growing fish that can be harvested in only six months and can easily be grown even in murky waters,? Delima said.

Except for its body, which is flat like saltwater fish, the Mekong catfish looks like the bigger cousin of the local ?hito? that is abundant in Mindanao.

Delima said local fish exporters, especially those in General Santos and Sarangani, can maximize their farm area to raise this kind of fish.