In its press communiqué the government of Philippines has declared that it supports the call of the fishing sector to reopen high seas fishing in the Pacific. The government has closed high seas fishing last year which has contributed to the decline in fisheries output in 2010 and the first half of 2011. Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said the government will “continuously push for the reopening of that portion of the high seas,” or at least secure preferential treatment for small and medium ring-netters and purse seiners or deep-sea fishing nets.
According to Alcala the government will coordinate with the industry in creating a team that will pursue such talks with Indonesia, Palau, the Solomon Islands and Kiribati. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Foreign Affairs Department was assigned to head the negotiating team. The Fisheries Bureau disclosed that the ban on tuna fishing in the high seas was behind the 40-percent decline in tuna catch for the first half of 2011.
Alcala noted the world market for tuna is now more competitive given new entrants to the market, growing demand and tighter regulation. He told that to beat the competition the government will do every bit of its work to boost fisheries output in the country. The department wants to make sure that the risk-based inspection or audit system that was set up for the very competitive European Union (EU) market will work in compliance with the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point requirement.
