October 25, 2010
Philippine government launches tuna study on dwindling stocks
The Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has begun a biological assessment of several tuna species in an attempt to amend declining tuna stocks in federal waters.
The study constitutes part of the bureau's continuing efforts to discover viable and long-term solutions to the Philippines' falling tuna catches, which have led to a 25% drop in tuna exports this year, said Sani Macabalang, BFAR-Region 12 director.
''We're mainly undertaking this study to help restore our tuna resources, which are already in the critical stage, and eventually sustain the tuna industry,'' he said.
The region exported 34 million kilogrammes of frozen whole round tuna and pouched and canned tuna to the European Union (EU) from January-June, according to data from BFAR-12's Administrative Support and Product Certification Unit. The most recent figures showed a 25% drop in the country's fishery exports to the EU versus the last five years, PNA reports.
According to Macabalang, tuna exports in 2009 yielded US$242 million.
General Santos City is the country's tuna centre and had been called the ''Tuna Capital of the Philippines.'' Six of the country's seven tuna canneries are located there.
Because of the tuna industry's poor performance this year, Macabalang said BFAR had introduced the biological assessment study to give the sector a boost. The study is being run jointly by the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI) and the National Stock Assessment Project of BFAR-Central Mindanao.
It concentrates on the country's three top export tuna species: yellowfin, bigeye, and skipjack.
The study runs until August 2011 and seeks to resolve the length at first capture and spawning seasons of the species, including sexual maturity determination, sex ratios, age, and length composition as well as length-weight relationship.
Marine Fisheries Research Division Project Leader of NFRDI, Eunice Bognot, informed that the study will be run monthly for 10 consecutive days in municipal and commercial waters.
Macabalang explained the slower performance of the tuna industry by referring to the ban imposed on the purse seine fishing method in parts of the Pacific by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).
WCPFC members voluntarily applied the ban to give the severely endangered tuna species yellowfin and bigeye stocks a chance to recover.
The biological assessment study represents BFAR's commitment to the international WCPFC on the proper regulations, protection and management of tuna stocks.
The WCPFC ban went into effect in January and lasts for two years. The country has since been negotiating with Papua New Guinea and Tonga to gain access to their fishing grounds.
