June 16, 2008

Philippines to adopt new fishing measures

THE Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) will encourage the shift to organic and extensive aquafarming and establishment of more fish sanctuaries and hatcheries as new measures to ensure that the fisheries subsector will attain its target growth rate 8 percent to 10 percent this year in the midst of spiralling oil prices and changing climate patterns.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), an attached agency of the DA, said other factors affecting the sectors' growth this year are high feed prices, which have risen by 40 percent since 2007, and the demolition of fish pens in Laguna and Taal Lakes.

BFAR Director Malcolm I. Sarmiento said high oil prices could badly affect the freshwater tilapia production which relies on water pumps and capture fisheries output can increase by 50 percent on fuel use.

BFAR said it will encourage fishers, particularly those from Mindoro, Marinduque and Romblon, to shift to the culture of saline tilapia in brackishwater ponds where water supply depends on tidal action rather than on fuel-operated water pumps.

The BFAR will also hike production of saline tilapia fingerlings in its facilities in Munoz in Nueva Ecija, Bonoan in Pangasinan, Pagbilao in Quezon and Bula in Camarines Sur, Sarmiento said.

To cushion the more adverse impact of high fuel prices, Sarmiento said the bureau will also convert some freshwater tilapia hatcheries to saline tilapia fingerling production centres and encourage the use of windmills.

Also part of the countermeasures is the use of more of floater feeds and duckweeds as supplement feeds for tilapia and bangus (milkfish).

For capture fisheries, the BFAR will provide fish aggregating devices (payao) for commercial and municipal fisherfolk to help conserve fuel by ensuring them specific fishing destinations.

Sarmiento said municipal fisherfolk will be given frugal techniques in using sails and ocean currents to reduce fuel consumption by fifty percent.

After Indonesia closed its waters to Philippine fishing vessels, the DA disclosed  it is eyeing  negotiating with other states like Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Palau, Micronesia and Kiribati for fishing-access agreements to make up for the potential losses.