http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/gen/2007/10/23/bus
/fishing.pacts.with.palau.papua.new.guinea.sought.html


Fishing pacts with Palau, Papua New Guinea sought

THE Philippines has sought the forging of a bilateral fishing agreement with Palau and Papua New Guinea to sustain the local tuna industry due to repeated prodding of industry players, an official said.

Malcolm Sarmiento, director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, said in a recent visit in General Santos City, that the National Government through the fisheries bureau is keen on having fishing access for tuna with the two Pacific Island nations to further boost the local tuna industry.

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"The Philippines has already proposed and submitted drafts for memoranda of understanding for cooperation on fisheries to Palau and Papua New Guinea," Sarmiento said.

However, the document was not made available.

Sarmiento revealed the development as efforts to renew the bilateral fishing agreement with Indonesia move on.

The country's fishing pact with Indonesia expired in December 2005 but was extended for another year.

Both sides were scheduled to meet last month in Manila but did not materialized.

Bayani Fredeluces, executive director of the Socsksargen Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries, Inc., said the meeting was moved to January next year at the instance of Indonesian officials, who wanted the meeting to take place in Jakarta.

"Negotiations to renew our fishing pact with Indonesia are still and on going. The tuna industry is hoping for a renewal since Indonesia has rich fishing grounds," Fredeluces said.

Sarmiento conceded that Indonesia's tuna resources are significant to the local tuna industry, saying that outcome of negotiations "will definitely affect Filipinos in the fishing sector, from the fishing crew to the Philippine fishing operators, to fish processors, traders and exporters."

Clamor for the government to forge fishing agreements with tuna resource-rich countries have been lingering in the past few years.

During the latest 9th National Tuna Congress here last month, the plenary approved a resolution reiterating the tuna industry's demand for the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Foreign Affairs to fast track forging of bilateral or regional fishing pacts with neighboring countries and the Pacific Island nations.

"The domestic tuna catch cannot sufficiently supply the requirements of the tuna canneries and processing plants, which are increasingly dependent on the supply of tuna caught outside the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone," the resolution reads.

"The establishment of more fishing access arrangements is essential to further boost the competitive advantage of the Philippine tuna industry as well as safeguard the livelihood of thousands of fishermen, processing plant workers and their families who are dependent on the industry," it added.

The Philippine tuna industry accounts for about 12 percent of the country's total fisheries production and about 120,000 jobs and accounts for an average turnover of $420 million per year, industry records said.

Fredeluces said they hope the government will also propose a bilateral fishing agreement with the Federated States of Micronesia, but Sarmiento was silent on this.