The fate of tuna industry in Philippines is in jeopardy due to its deteriorating condition. Overfishing has broken the industry very backbone and this massive unemployment is the outcome. For this struggling industry it would be best to emulate measures carried out by the European Union (EU) in restoring its blue-fin tuna stock in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Sen. Francis Escudero castigated the government for its “lack of vision” for the country’s tuna industry, which is mostly concentrated in southern Mindanao.
According to Escudero ieffective measures to stop overfishing would eventually sink the country’s tuna industry and create massive unemployment in Mindanao. IN his statement Escudero said that overfishing has led to the environmental degradation of our coral reefs. With its inability to strictly enforce fishing laws, which has led to continuous encroachment by big foreign fishing boats, the national government has clearly shown its lack of vision for the tuna industry, says Escudero.
Escudero suggested that to reverse the industry’s decline the industry players impose self-regulation by limiting our catch to restore tuna stocks in the waters off southern Mindanao. He said the EU last year implemented “catch” quotas for blue-fin tuna in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and shortened the fishing season to four months a year, and imposed a freeze on blue-fin tuna fishing activities for eight months in order to restore stock in their seas.
The Philippines tuna industry employs at least 100,000 workers and is concentrated in General Santos City, where six tuna canneries are located. Escudero opined that the Philippines was the world’s fourth biggest producer of fresh and processed tuna at 500,000 tons in 2007.
