Gov't to license tuna pumpboats

GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- Government agencies have set up a new licensing procedure for Philippine pumpboats (bancas) which bring in P2.5 billion annually in exports, but which do not qualify as commercial fishing vessels under existing maritime regulations.

The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) signed recently an agreement relative to the registration, documentation and licensing of more than 2,500 pumpboats which use handlines to fish for high-grade tuna in the Celebes Sea and international waters.

This vital sub-sector of the food industry, which employs approximately 20,000 fishermen, operates mainly out of the SOCKSARGEN (South Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-General Santos City) growth area of southern Mindanao.

The pumpboat are enlarged versions of the traditional banca, consisting of a wooden hull with outriggers on either side, and run by a converted diesel truck engine.

They are manned by fishermen who have had little formal schooling, but who employ increasingly rare, centuries-old fishing skills to catch high-value tuna, each weighing 4 kilos or more, in waters as far off as Papua New Guinea and Micronesia.

Industry analysts estimate that direct revenue to these pumpboat is close to P1 billion a year. The tuna, air-freighted whole or processed into sashimi blocks and steaks for Manila and foreign markets, generates annual export revenues exceeding P2.5 billion.

However, none of these pumpboats could reasonably meet all the requirements imposed on commercial fishing vessels under Marina regulations.

Like many countries, the Philippines had adapted its rules to follow those of international regulatory bodies, which did not consider traditional fishing boats in formulating their standards.

According to the regulations, vessels weighing more than three gross tons (as do all of the tuna pumpboats) had to be manned by licensed marine personnel and carry documents issued separately by several government agencies -- as well as vessel plans drafted by a certified naval architect.

"One of the main purposes of the MOA is to come up with regulations consistent with the simplicity of the craft," says Dr. Stanley Swerdloff, a senior specialist of the USAID-funded Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program who assists the area's fisheries sector.

"The typical tuna pumpboat is just an overgrown outrigger canoe, and yet its documentation needs were virtually the same as for an sophisticated 80-meter purse seiner," he points out.

Over the past decade, as the mature tuna population and other marine resources in Philippine waters declined, the pumpboats were adapted to travel to the fishing grounds of other countries. Their lack of legal identity has led to host of problems with foreign authorities.

"We are the only country using pumpboats to fish in international waters," said General Santos City Mayor Adelbert Antonino at the MOA signing. "High-level conference [for the allocation of global tuna resources] have asked: "How can we recognize [Philippine] pumpboats, when even your own government doesn't recognize them?"

The issuance of the new Commercial Vessel Fishing Licenses will help lead to international recognition of the tuna pumpboat and enable government to monitor the catch, says Reuben Ganaden, BFAR assistant director. "At future conventions on tuna resources, we will be able to present catch data to lobby more effectively for the Philippines' allocation," he added.

The centralization of the licensing procedure, which will be implemented by a task force of officials from MARINA, BFAR, the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA), and Coast Guard (PCG), will also spare pumpboat operators the expense and waiting time involved in securing documentation from different government departments.

"It is heartening to see these different agencies so responsive," said Antonio. "We brought the matter up [to them] in September, and they had devised the new system by December."

Advocates for the handline fishermen, including the SOCKSARGEN Federation of Fishing Associations and Allied Services, are also urging government to begin bilateral talks on fishing access with individual pacific nations, particularly Indonesia, whose waters are most frequented by the tuna pumpboats.

"The new licensing procedure shows that government is sensitive towards this fisheries sector," says Domingo Teng, president of the Federation. "It reflects national policies regarding Mindanao and food security."

Last year, President Estrada signed an executive order creating the SOCSKSARGEN Fishing Industry Steering Committee, involving several Cabinet departments, to develop a coherent strategy for expanding the tuna industry.

Industry-related matters are also expected to be on the agenda of the Second Mindanao Food Congress which will be held at General Santos City on Feb. 25-26.