500 General Santos fishers may lose jobs due to tuna fishing ban

MANILA, Philippines - At least 500 fishermen in General Santos City face possible displacement as a result of the two-year tuna fishing ban in the Pacific Ocean, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said yesterday.

Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said the DOLE regional office in General Santos has already profiled 470 workers directly affected by the tuna fishing ban.

The ban is also expected to affect 50 fishing companies in Sarangani and General Santos, 13 of which have licenses to fish in the high seas covered by the purse seine ban.  

But Roque gave assurance that the government is now readying emergency employment and other livelihood programs for fishermen likely to be displaced as a result of the ban.

“DOLE already activated two projects for   livelihood and emergency employment and projects under the Tulong Pangkabuhayan Para sa mga Disadvantaged (TUPAD) and Integrated Services for Livelihood Assistance (ISLA) for workers who will experience temporary work loss,” he said. 

Roque said DOLE officials have met with the affected groups and informed them of the creation of Task Force GenSan, which would facilitate the timely delivery of services and interventions for workers in the local tuna industry. 

He added that the DOLE regional office in General Santos would also set up one-stop emergency employment centers in strategic sites this week.

These centers will coordinate with concerned government offices, including the Bureau of Aquatic Resources and the local government units’ public employment service offices, for immediate assistance to and the profiling of affected workers.

Roque said the ban, which started last Jan. 1, was meant to stop over-fishing, but did not exempt purse seine fishing, a technique mostly used by General Santos City-based fishermen.

Purse seine fishing uses a rope that passes through all the rings, and when pulled, draws the rings close to one another, preventing the fish from “sounding” or swimming down to escape the net.

Aside from employment facilitation services, local and overseas jobs, skills survey, training and scholarships, DOLE is also offering the Diskwento caravan and youth employment for the affected workers.