Dwindling stocks, rising demand bedeviltuna fishing

TORIL: The Davao Fish Port Complex (DFPC) here, the country’s only transshipment point for tuna exports, has always been in the red.

Except for last year, when spiraling fuel prices slowed down fishing and recession dampened demand.

Then there are the dwindling tuna stocks, with many boats fishing farther afield. Or maybe it is global warming.

Davao fish port Manager Mario Malinao remains optimistic, saying tuna will always be a prime commodity because of its perceived health benefits.

“We have been consistently in the black for 14 years, since 1995 until now despite our limited space and port facilities,” he says. “Thus, the slack in 2008 had minimal effect especially after some belt-tightening.

“While fishery catches will tend to decline, the demand will always increase because health-conscious consumers are increasing.”

Last year was “the worst because the volume of fish landed was down by 29.76 percent and foreign vessel arrivals were down 33.86 percent over 2007,” says Malinao.

In 2008, 1.552 million kilograms of sashimi-grade yellofin and bigeye tuna were unloaded by foreign vessels; that was 40 percent of all fish unloaded, an average of 109,663 kilograms of sashimi-grade tuna landed each month.

In 2007, it was bigger: 2.219 million kilograms of sashimi-grade tuna were unloaded.

In comparison, some 2.364 million kilograms of non-sashimi grade tuna were unloaded in 2008; the previous year, it was 3.357 million kilograms.

In 2008, foreign vessels unloaded 3,917 metric tons of tuna a month. They made only 504 port calls compared to 762 the previous year.

Domestic vessels unloaded 405 metric tons of fish a month and made 278 port calls, and well below the 400 port calls registered in 2007.

“The low figures are due to recession and declining tuna stocks,” Malinao believes. “There are almost no more stocks in traditional tuna grounds, and present catches come from farther areas.

“The migratory patterns have been altered, and this could be due to global warming and the sustained demand for tuna by the increasing global population.”

Then there was the cost of fuel. In General Santos, for instance, out of 5,000 local handline tuna vessels, only 1,500 operated in the last five months of 2008 because of the erratic cost of diesel that peaked at P56 a liter then.

The handline, or manual, tuna vessels operating in General Santos needs a minimum of P500,000 each in provisions, including fuel, before going out to sea for about 20 days. If it’s lucky, it can earn as much as P2 million in one trip.

All local tuna fishermen use handlines. Only foreign tuna vessels using longlines are mechanized—and they dock in Davao for the transshipment facilities.

The Philippines is a member of the Western and Central Pacific Fishery Commission established by the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. It aims to conserve and manage migratory fisheries like tuna.–Paul M. Icamina, Special Reports Editor, Manila Times