Ni NOEL ABUEL
Tinitiyak ni Senador Cynthia Villar na makakaasa ng tulong ang Philippine tuna industry sa bansa at upang isulong sustainable fishing practices.
Sa closing ceremony ng 23rd Tuna Congress na may temang “Adapting Strategies Responsive to Global Changes” na idinaos sa General Santos City, naging pangunahing tagapagsalita si Villar.
Pinagbuklod ng 2-day congress, ang eksperto at stakeholders para tugunan ang global challenges na kinakaharap ng Philippine tuna industry.
Itinaguyod ang okasyon ng SocSKSargen Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries (SFFAII) na pinangunahan ng president at National Tuna Congress chairman Mr. Dominic R. Salazar, sa pakikipag-ugnayan sa Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Fisheries at Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR), Cagayan de Oro City LGU at Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Nabigyan ng Kongreso ng pagkakataon ang maliliit na mangingisda na maipahayag ang kanilang mga kailangan at interes.
Pangalawa ang Pilipinas sa top global exporter ng tuna sa Asya, kasunod ng Indonesia. Anim na uri ng tuna ang tuna ang nahuhuli sa commercial quantity: yellowfin, skipjack, eastern little, frigate, big eye, at bullet.
Pangunahing export markets ng Philippines’ processed tuna ang United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, and The Netherlands.
Inakda ni Villar ang Republic Act 10654 noong 2015 o pag-amiyenda sa Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, kaugnay ng konsepto na Illegal, Unreported o Unregulated (IUU) fishing at nagpapataw ng parusa sa mga lumalabag.
“The IUUF law prescribes the number of licenses and permits for the conduct of fishery activities, adopts the precautionary principle and mandates the balance – between over‐protection and over‐ exploitation of fisheries resources which necessitates the installation of a Vessel Monitoring System.(VMS), ” ayon sa senador.
“The setting up of a VMS to prevent IUU fishing is a requirement by European Union for us to avail of the inclusion with the GSP+ that allows the Philippines to enjoy zero tariffs on 6,274 products or 66% of all EU tariff lines. Last year, 2.93 billion euros worth of Philippine products were exported to the EU using GSP+. GSP+ is contingent on implementation of core human rights, labour, governance, and other sustainable development conventions. The current GSP+ is valid until end of 2023,” dagdag pa nito.
Pinoprotektahan din ng IUU Fishing ang kapakanan ng mga mangingisda na nasa 15-kilometer municipal waters at pinipigilan ang kahirapan at gutom.
“With the prediction of the occurrence of El Niño and the Ill effects of climate change, the tuna industry should be protected from overfishing and habitat degradation to prevent its depletion which may lead to its collapse,” ani Villar.
Nagpaalala ang senador na hindi “limitless” ang resources ng karagatan kung kaya’t kailangan itong alagaan.
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