Gov’t crafts management framework plan for sardines industry

The government is now crafting a management framework plan for the sustainability and development of the multi-billion sardines industry.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) officials said in a briefing held on Tuesday that they have formed a technical working group to craft a unified framework for the sustainable management of sardine fisheries.

Agriculture Undersecretary for Fisheries and BFAR National Director Commodore Eduardo Gongona said the framework will be subjected to a series of consultations and is targeted for launching by the third week of October.

Gongona emphasized that over the last five years, the sardine industry has yielded an average volume of 355,000 metric tons, generating an average value of R10.45 billion.

"And when we look at data from our Fisherfolk Registration System – we see that there are over 800,000 fisherfolk engaged in capture fishing. That is nearly half of the 1.7 million registered fisherfolk across the country, almost a million people dependent on sardines and other fish for their everyday living," he added.

BFAR Technical Working Group Representative Jose Ingles told reporters that while BFAR has not yet identified the budget needed to implement the Sardine Management Plan, he said "BFAR is willing to spend much" for it.

BFAR is currently working with Oceana, the world's largest international non-government organization working on ocean conservation, and other stakeholders for the development of the plan.

Oceana said the plan will hopefully be emplaced in 2018 to serve as a roadmap for the country’s sardine fisheries, while acting as a platform to share biological, economic and social knowledge.