A fish port worker in General Santos City helps unload the early morning catch. Responding to calls from tuna industry leaders, national government representatives, said at the 10th National Tuna Congress held this month, that the government is fast-tracking amendments to the Philippine Baselines Law in order to expand the country’s fishing grounds, and that further indicated that the government will allow tuna fishing boat operators to import their fuel requirements directly, to cushion the impact of rising fuel costs. The annual Tuna Congress was organized by the SOCSKSARGEN Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries, Inc., comrised of purse seine and handline fishing groups, canners, processors, traders and aquaculture producers. The Federation works with the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR), USAID’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program, and other partners to ensure the global competitiveness of the Philippine tuna industry
