Tuna News

Philippines: 150,000 workers may lose jobs with tuna fishing ban

Source: By Judy Quiros
Philippine Daily Inquirer

DAVAO CITY – About 150,000 workers, who depend on the tuna industry in General Santos City, will end up jobless because of the two-year ban on tuna fishing in Western and Central Pacific ocean, a fishing magnate in Mindanao said.

The ban, which was decided upon by the international organization, Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), started on January 1, and did not exempt purse seine fishing, the system mostly used by General Santos City-based fishers.

Marfin Tan, president of the Socsksargen Fishing Federation and Allied Industries, Inc. (SFFAII), said the ban has affected about 200 fishing boats in Mindanao.

The ban, imposed by the WCPFC to which the Philippines belongs as a member, is meant to stop over-fishing.

However, Tan said the fishing industry would see a 20 percent drop in the country’s capability to supply tuna in the local and the world markets.
The tuna industry in the General Santos is valued at $380 million from annual export figures of 400 metric tons.

An official of the United States-funded Growth with Equity in Mindanao previously estimated that 60 percent of General Santos City’s annual tuna catch came from foreign waters.

Stanley N. Swerdloff, who in 2002 was GEM’s senior fisheries advisor, said access to tuna-rich fishing grounds in neighboring countries was important to the tuna industry in General Santos City.

“Tuna is responsible for almost US$1 billion circulating in the national economy, much of it goes to Mindanao,” he once said.

“For our projection this year, the tuna catch will lie low by 20 percent during the first quarter. Fishermen, who are affected by the closure of the high seas, will have to look for other fishing grounds to compensate their losses,” Tan said.

He said the government could still remedy the situation by forging bilateral agreements with other countries in terms of sharing the ocean’s richness.
Undersecretary Virgilio Leyretana, head of the Mindanao Economic Development Council (Medco), said the closure of the high seas was disturbing because it would eventually affect the economic stability of Mindanao.

“The closure will not only affect the fishermen but also auxiliary businesses related to the cannery business. On top of this, the revenue generation of the local government units concerned will also be in peril,” he said.

Leyretana said if countries, where Philippine fishermen venture into, also decide to close their territorial waters, the problem would get worst.
The website of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) states it was established by the Convention for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPF Convention).

The convention took effect on June 19, 2004. It was completed after six years of negotiations among member-countries, which started in 1994. Before it took effect in 2004, preparatory meetings were held to lay the foundations for the commission to do its work.

The members are Australia, China, Canada, Cook Islands, European Community, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, France, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Chinese Taipei, Tonga, Tuvalu, United States of America, and Vanuatu.

Participating territories include American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, French Polynesia, Guam, New Caledonia, Tokelau, Wallis and Futuna