BFAR renews partnership with fishers‘ coalition
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has renewed its partnership with a coalition of fisherfolk organizations to capacitate local government units and modernize fishing of local stakeholders in the West Philippine Sea.
BFAR signed a memorandum of agreement with Pangingisda Natin Gawing Tama (Panagat) Network aimed to build the fisheries management capacities of local government units and Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management Councils especially in the introduction of modern technologies.
Through the funding support of the BFAR and the German organization Rosa-Luxemburg Stiftung, the Panagat Network and their partners conducted initial introductory training on municipal catch documentation and traceability system (MCDTS) and vessel monitoring mechanism (VMM) for local fisheries managers.
The training included an introduction to these standards and the benefits of implementing these for the conservation of fishery resources, as well as good practices in using these technologies.
VMM is a system for tracking and monitoring the position, course and speed of vessels to manage fishing effort and fisheries resources.
This includes vessel monitoring system, which is applied to all Philippine flagged commercial fishing vessels authorized by the BFAR to operate in the high seas and those with access rights in other countries’ exclusive economic zones.
The MCDTS, on the other hand, aims to establish a data collection system at the local government level to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
To identify the types of assistance needed by LGUs, BFAR and Panagat conducted technology readiness assessments (TRA) in select coastal communities.
Following the TRAs, both parties said further improvements are needed in the capacity building of LGUs to prepare for the implementation of these activities.
Currently, the top site for VMM implementation is Pandan, Antique, which scored 45 percent, while the top site for MCDTS is Libertad, Antique, which scored 75 percent.
Last year, the fisheries subsector, which accounted for 14.4 percent of total agricultural output, registered a 6.6 percent drop in production, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The subsector’s output was valued at P252.8 billion last year, falling from P265.99 billion in the previous year.
The PSA said various species recorded production levels, including tambakol, mudcrab, sapsap, talakitok, bisugo, alumahan, grouper, tamban, tilapia, tiger prawn, milkfish, blue crab, galunggong and tulingan.
China still present
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is continuously monitoring the presence of the China Coast Guard (CCG) and its vessels in the West Philippine Sea despite the country’s diplomatic protests and the continued radio challenges for them to leave the Philippine territory.
PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela said before the weekend that they are continuously monitoring the presence of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the CCG and Chinese militia maritime vessels loitering in the Philippine waters.
Tarriela also emphasized that the Chinese government is continuously maintaining its deployment of vessels in the country’s maritime domain.
His statement came after the PCG recently reported that its personnel stationed at Pag-asa Island in Palawan monitored on Saturday the presence of the PLA, CCG and at least 42 suspected Chinese maritime militia within the country’s 12-nautical miles territorial sea.
While the CCG continued to ignore the PCG’s radio challenges, Tarriela reiterated that they will not give up on their responsibilities as he emphasized that all personnel stationed in every island in the West Philippine Sea will continue to challenge intruders.
Pag-asa Island is home to about 400 residents, including 70 children and other troops from the Philippine National Police and other law enforcement teams, who have gotten used to the presence of Chinese vessels, according to Tarriela.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and United States Undersecretary for political affairs Victoria Nuland underscored the importance of the Philippine-US alliance and partnership to promoting peace, stability and resilience in the region, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.
Manalo received Ambassador Nuland at the DFA on Tuesday.
The two officials exchanged views on recent developments in the West Philippine Sea/ South China Sea and other bilateral and global issues of mutual concern, with “an eye towards identifying concrete measures that the two countries can pursue jointly, and together with other likeminded partners.”
The DFA said the meeting was an opportunity to preview plans for the forthcoming 2+2 Ministerial Meeting to be hosted by the US next month, which will be co-led by the DFA and the Department of National Defense and the US Departments of State and Defense.
Both sides agreed to expand the scope of the 2+2 to include broader security considerations, such as food security, energy, cybersecurity, telecommunications and supply chains.