Philippines to push for resumption of commercial fishing in Pacific high seas

MANILA, Philippines—Saying that certain tuna species are not overfished, the Philippine government said it would campaign for the reopening of the Pacific high seas for commercial fishing.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said the Philippines would send a team to push for the resumption of fishing activities in Western Pacific at the meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission in December in Palau.

The WCPF imposed a ban on the Pacific high seas, one of the major fishing grounds in the world, in January 2008 to allow tuna species and other marine life to spawn. The ban is expected to end later this year.

Last year, the Philippines filed a position to the WCPFC meeting in Hawaii calling for the establishment of a Special Management Area in High Seas Pocket 1 where Filipino fresh and ice-chilled fishing vessels may be allowed.

According to Alcala, the closure of the high seas has contributed to the decline in the country’s tuna industry.

In 2010, the tuna industry’s production volume declined by 9 percent from 2008 levels, industry data said.

It also noted that commercial fisheries, which account for 70 percent of the total volume at 271,625 metric tons, also posted a 13.84 percent drop,

Tuna export in 2010 was valued at US$ 359.38 million, around 70 percent of which were canned, while the remaining 30 percent were fresh, chilled, or frozen.

Canned tuna exports dropped by 8.14 percent compared to 2009 figures, the SFFAII documents also showed.

In a previous interview, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources director Asis Perez said there is a possibility that the ban on fishing will continue. The Philippines, he said, will oppose this.

He noted that the agency sent two scientists to attend the 7th Regular Session of the WCPFC Scientific Committee last month.  Accordingly, the Scientific Committee or SC concluded that tuna, specifically the yellowfin species is not experiencing overfishing.

However, the SC recommended that there should be no increase in fishing efforts in the western equatorial region.

The most common tuna species in the country are yellowfin, skipjack, and frigate tunas.

Perez, in a memorandum, told Alcala that the permanent Philippine team was recently constituted, composed of representatives from the Departments of Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, and Trade and Industry, the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), and other industry leaders.

Perez also said plans are afoot to discuss the management of fishing activities in the waters shared by the Philippines, Indonesia and Palau.

The BFAR chief said they want to delineate the maritime territory of Southern Philippines that overlap with the waters of Indonesia and Palau.

This should strengthen security programs in Southern Philippine waters, protect Filipino fishermen, and lead to the sustainable development of the country’s tuna industry, Perez said.