DA to carry out measures to boost fisheries sector

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is carrying out several measures to put the fisheries sub-sector back on a high-growth.

These measures include looking for new fishing grounds overseas and harnessing diplomatic channels to expand export markets for Filipino fish suppliers.

In a report to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) director Malcolm Sarmiento Jr. said most of the measures are focused on the domestic tuna industry which has suffered several setbacks as a result of high fuel prices and developments in the international front.

Sarmiento said the prevailing fuel price crisis has done much damage to the fishing industry.

He said as much as 70 percent of the operating budgets of the country’s tuna fishing fleet goes to fuel expenses.

The loss of the Philippines’ fishing access to Indonesian waters, Sarmiento said, has hurt the domestic tuna fishing industry.

Likewise, new management regimes imposed by the United Nations and other international bodies have also affected Filipino fishermens’ tuna catch.

In the first semester of this year, the fisheries sub-sector grew by just 2.74 percent compared to the year-ago expansion of 7.24 percent.

To get back on the high growth path, Sarmiento said the DA and BFAR are implementing a series of measures to boost the growth of the fisheries sector in the second half of 2008.

These include carrying out improvements in the technical design and efficiency of “payaos”; searching for and identifying new fishing grounds for tuna and small pelagics in the Pacific Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ); and conducting  scientific studies on migration patterns of tunas and other migratory species.

Sarmiento said BFAR would conduct a stock assessment and promote the sea ranching of bluefin tuna.

To protect the interest of fish processors and exporters, Sarmiento said President Arroyo has ordered the DA and BFAR to tap trade and diplomatic channels “to counter regressive, unreasonable and unnecessary requirements that serve no purpose other than restrict our ability to succeed in the export market.”

“All things considered, there is reason to remain bullish about the future of the Philippine tuna industry. Smooth sailing is not guaranteed given the range of obstacles that the industry still needs to overcome but it is reassuring to note that the fundamentals for growth and development are in place,” Sarmiento said. – Marianne Go