April 8, 2008

Philippines may face fish supply deficit on overfishing, bad practices

The Philippines may likely face a fish shortage due to overfishing and aquaculture malpractices being promoted by the government in exchange of municipal fishermen's traditional fishing practices.

The Kilusang Mangingisda -- a coalition of 14 fishermen's federations -- said overfishing and negligence have pushed the local fisheries sector on the "verge of resource collapse."

The group claimed the country has had fish deficits since 2005 and production may not cope with further increases in demand.

According to KM spokesperson Ruperto Aleroza, data from the Comprehensive National Fishery Industry Development Plan (CNFIDP) showed an expected increase in the demand for food fish from 2.6 million tonnes in 2005 to 4.2 million tonnes by 2025.

He said the increase is based on the "individual Filipino's average yearly fish consumption of 31.4 kilos multiplied by 135 million Filipinos, the expected population by 2025, at a yearly growth rate of 2.36 percent."

The CNFIDP is a strategic fisheries development plan prepared jointly by the government and stakeholders in the domestic fisheries sector.

Regardless of the expected yearly growths in aquaculture, Aleroza noted that an average yearly deficit of 403,000 tonnes of food fish is projected by the CNFIDP from 2005 to 2025 due to overfishing which has gone unchecked since the 1970s.  

Overfishing, he said, has pushed "capture fisheries production beyond the maximum sustainable yield since the 1980s and local fisheries are on the verge of collapse as fish stocks are only about 10 percent to 30 percent of their levels in the 1940s and 1950s". The report also pointed out that the average fish catch has declined to only a sixth of the rate in the 1950s.

Aleroza disputed the government's claim that aquaculture is a better alternative to capture fisheries.

He explained that "aquaculture, in its present form, remains unregulated and saddled with unsustainable practices". Aleroza claims that mangrove conversions to fishponds, which had already wiped out two-thirds of the country¡¯s mangroves, persists to this day and worse, "excess feeds and organic wastes in fish cages pollute near shore marine waters and continue to cause fish kills."

Aleroza explains that seaweed is the only best performer in aquaculture as it comprises 70 percent of the industry's yearly production. Seaweed is primarily used for industrial purposes and not consumed as food, he said.

CNFIDP put the deficit at 205,159 tonnes in 2005, which would increase to 585,538 tonnes by 2025.

The Kilusang Mangingisda blamed government's market-driven policies in fisheries production for the neglect of fisheries and aquaculture management and the lack of support for municipal fishers, despite the fact that they make up 95 percent of the fisheries labour force and contribute at least a third of total fisheries production.