Phl to appeal ban on tuna fishing in high seas

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines plans to appeal anew the lifting of the high seas ban on tuna fishing at the annual meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) in December.

According to Bureau of Fisheries and Aquaculture Resources (BFAR) director Asis Perez, they will convince members of the WCPFC that the Philippines is putting into place various conservation and management measures of its fishing resources.

Perez pointed that the Philippines posted a 13 percent decline in tuna catch as a result of the high seas ban.

The high seas fishing ban was imposed by the WCPFC, a body which groups Pacific island nations with fishing countries, to conserve what scientists have warned are fast-dwindling tuna stocks.

The high seas tuna fishing ban was spurred on by the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention or UNCLOS which restricts the use of the global ocean commons to that which is “reasonable” and does not infringe on the right of others.

Tuna varieties such as big eye and yellow fin are in great demand for sashimi and sushi, while the skipjack variety is used for canning.

While the Philippines also consumes tuna, most of its catch are actually exported to Japan which accounts for almost 90 percent of tuna consumption of sashimi and sushi.

According to Perez, recent moves by the BFAR - including its order on a seasonal ban on purse seine or ring net fishing, may help its bid for the lifting of the high seas tuna fishing ban.

The Philippines, Perez said, is still firming up its request which it hopes to present during the December annual meeting of the WCPFC.

This is the second time that the Philippines is asking for the lifting of the high seas closure.

The country faces strong opposition from a group of Pacific island nations known collectively as the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) which wants to extend the areas currently covered by a high seas tuna fishing ban.

The PNA grouping includes PNG, Palau, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands.

The PNA countries control areas responsible for a quarter of the world’s tuna supply.