MANILA, Philippines — The sardines industry is set to launch a pilot study on resource sharing between commercial and municipal fishers in Zamboanga del Norte to address the sardines issue in a sustainable manner.
This is among the major recommendations discussed during a consultation dialogue spearheaded by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) after industry stakeholders called for a multisectoral approach to solve the looming shortage of sardines for canning.
In a media briefing, the Fisheries Management Area (FMA) 4 Management Board said it would pilot test the “Big Brother Small Brother partnership” in the municipality of Sibuco in Zamboanga Del Norte and possibly, include the neighboring municipalities in an effort to promote resource sharing.
FMA 4, covers the waters of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, Sulu, Negros Occidental.
Under the program, small to medium commercial fishing vessels would be allowed within the 10.1 to 15 kilometers of the municipal waters following the legal framework of the amended Fisheries Code.
Under Republic Act 10654 or the amended Philippine Fisheries Code, small and medium commercial fishing vessels may be allowed to operate within the 10.1 to 15 kilometers from the shoreline in the municipal waters provided that the local government unit (LGU) enacts a municipal ordinance allowing their operation.
“The recommendation is to pilot test this, so the benefits and arrangements will be studied so every sector of the industry can benefit. It has to be studied well; the terms and conditions have to be formulated,” BFAR OIC-director Demosthenes Escoto said.
BFAR 9 regional director and FMA 4 Management Board chairman Isidro Velayo said the pilot testing would be implemented in the next one to two years.
“It is included in our immediate term programs,” Velayo said.
Permex Producer and Exporter Corp. manager and FMA 4 Management Board member Edgar Lim said Zamboanga supplies 85 percent of the sardines requirement of the country, making it the sardines capital of the Philippines.
Another recommendation made during the stakeholders’ dialogue is to ensure the continuous supply of sardines without compromising sustainability.
The stakeholders also agreed that municipal fisherfolk should be provided with the necessary government interventions, such as to post-harvest and logistics support.
This integrates the municipal fisherfolk in the value chain, allowing them to have the capacity to supply the needs of the canning industry based on the required volume and quality, possibly through a supply agreement with the necessary consolidations scheme/strategies.
“During the conduct of the dialogue two days ago, an important solution that was identified was to take in municipal fisheries in the entire value chain of sardines. For a long time, they were not fully integrated in the value chain wherein their catch do not make it to the factories or the processing plants to help produce sardines,” Escoto said.
Other recommendations made during the dialogue also include investing in value-adding (canning/processing) to generate jobs, reduce cost, and increase global competitiveness, and revisiting the provisions of the fisheries code, particularly the 15-kilometer delineation of municipal waters.
The FMA 4 Management Board said it its committed to ensuring sustainability of the sardine fishery within its management area while giving importance to wide stakeholders’ participation and promoting inclusive and equitable progress of the country’s sardine industry.
BFAR has set another stakeholders’ meeting next week in Manila to discuss the same recommendations, Escoto said.
“We are promoting a united fishing sector, of the sardine industry. It is high time now that we set aside the sectoral difference but rather push for a solid sardine industry to help build our country especially in times like this economic crisis,” he said.
Earlier this month, the canning industry warned of looming shortage of sardines for canning due to the low fish catch of commercial fishers from whom canners source their sardines.