New tuna limits may cut fish production

THE country’s fish production may decline by 5 percent this year following the government’s imposition of conservation measures, an official said over the weekend.

“We will see a decline in fish production in the coming weeks after we have fully enforced measure to arrest all illegal fishing methods,” Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources director Asis Perez said.

He said that fish caught using illegal fishing methods such as dynamite fishing were included in the survey of fish production since the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics had no means to determine where the fish came from.

Perez said the government could no longer allow the use of illegal fishing methods if it wanted to sustain fish production.

“If we are to seriously deal with the problem of illegal fishing, the corresponding decline in production is inevitable,” he said.

“It’s a bitter pill that we have to swallow. Once it’s done, we will see production increase in the middle of next year.”

The campaign against illegal fishing methods would ensure the preservation of juvenile fish, Perez said.

The bureau also expressed concern that fish production this year would be affected by the ban on tuna fishing in the Pacific.

Asis said the government would again make a pitch to re-open certain pockets of the high seas, particularly those around Palau.

The Philippines is to make a formal request during the meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission in December.

“We will show that the Philippines is prepared to undertake corresponding conservation measures to ensure the survival of the [tuna] species,” Perez said.

Asis said the ban on tuna fishing in the high seas was a contributing factor to the 40-percent decline in the tuna catch during the period January to June. –Othel V. Campos, Manila Standard Today