Group urges BBM to push for creation of separate fisheries, aquaculture dept

FISHERIES industry players urged President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr., who is also the incoming agriculture chief, to certify as urgent a bill that would form a separate department that would focus on developing the country’s fisheries and aquaculture industries.

Fisheries industry players led by advocacy group Tugon Kabuhayan emphasized on Monday the urgency of creating a Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DFAR) to further unlock the industry’s potential in terms of economic contribution and ensuring the country’s food security.

The group said having DFAR would set the correct policy directions in developing the country’s fisheries industries as well as ensuring proper regulatory oversight of the whole value chain.

The group noted that the creation of DFAR will cost the government some P12 billion annual budgetary requirement but would result in robust increase in seafood production and better income for fish producers, thereby ensuring the country’ s supply.

“We are united—from municipal fishers, commercial fishers, businesses, aquaculture and post-harvest businesses—in our call for the creation of

DFAR. Create DFAR and we will have seafood security,” Roberto Ballon, a convenor of the group and recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, said in a news briefing on Monday.

“The industry has a huge potential. We are not given the proper attention. Until now there is no proper protocol in terms of permits. Improving the fishing industry would improve livelihoods in the rural areas,” said Norberto Chingcuanco of Feedmix Specialist Inc. said.

Numerous bills were filed in the previous Congress that sought the creation of DFAR or a similar agency but did not reach plenary in either houses of the legislative body.

“With the fifth largest coastline in the world, we have a total of 233 million hectares of water resources, which is 7.7 times bigger than the country’s land area. We need to have a separate DFAR to manage it,” the group said.

Citing Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data, the group said fisheries production has improved in the past two decades to 4.4 million metric tons (MMT) in 2020 from 3.17 MMT in 2001. However, recent challenges have reversed the upward trend with the country’s fisheries output falling to 4.25 MMT in 2021, according to the group.

The group emphasized that fish remains as the top protein source of Filipinos at 34.27 kilograms per year compared to meat at 21 kilograms and poultry at 11.2 kilograms.

“The fisheries industry provides livelihood and sustenance to 2.08 million registered fisherfolk and fish workers in the aquaculture, municipal, and commercial sub sectors. This does not include workers in fish processing plants, aquaculture feed mills, and other allied industries,” it added.

No less than the current leadership of the Department of Agriculture (DA) proposed that the incoming administration certify as urgent a bill creating the Department of Fishery and Oceans (DFO), a measure supported by the Coalition for Agriculture Modernization of the Philippines (CAMP).