Recently Tuna Statistics Consultation Meeting was organized by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) led by BFAR Assistant Director Atty. Benjamin Tabios, in collaboration with the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI), Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) and the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA). The meeting was attended by the tuna industry representatives from General Santos City and from around the country.
The main aim of the meeting was to focus on the improvement of tuna log sheets which will be used by BFAR-NFRDI to collect data about the tuna caught by Filipino fishers in and outside the country. It is said that the information which will be generated by the BFAR-NFRDI survey is required by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), which determines the total allowable catch of tuna species and allocate catch among its member-countries including the Philippines.
It was decided that the captains or skippers of tuna catcher vessels will be provided with these log sheets and will be required to provide information of their catch in full detail. The move by BFAR to collect information from tuna fishermen has met some opposition by some tuna hand-liners owing to the fact that they have to reveal confidential information on their fishing grounds, which are closely guarded secrets.
Marfenio Tan, president of the Socsksargen Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries (SFFAI) Inc., explained that this system will improve management of the tuna stocks in Philippines. He added that it will properly managed the tuna stocks with the cooperation of all stakeholders because the survival of the tuna industry depends on the survival of the tuna stocks.
