Small fishermen urge government to enforce poaching laws

AN ASSOCIATION of small fishermen, Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA), said the government needs to enforce poaching in order to deter illegal exploitation of Philippine fisheries.

“Foreign fishermen are taking all our fish, especially in areas like the West Philippine Sea. It is an insult that we have to import fish from abroad when it comes from our own waters,” PAMALAKAYA Vice Chair for Luzon Bobby C. Roldan said in a statement.

He said fish being imported from China and Vietnam, primarily galunggong (round scad) and mackerel, were likely taken from Philippine waters.

“We are most likely importing balikbayan (returnee) fish. We are fully aware that the countries where we are going to import fish from are the same countries that frequent our territorial waters in the West Philippine Sea. This is an insult to us as an archipelagic country as we might be importing fish that came from our very own fishing grounds,” Mr. Roldan added.

Mr. Roldan, a Zambales fisherman, said galunggong is mostly caught in the West Philippine Sea and off Batangas, Mindoro, and Palawan.

PAMALAKAYA also called for price controls to stabilize rising fish prices.

“At P250 per kilogram retail price, galunggong is no longer a ‘poor man’s fish.’ This unreasonable pricing is mainly caused by government’s failure to regulate private fish traders who secure their profits by jacking up the wholesale prices and eventually push up retail prices to unaffordable levels,” the organization’s Chairman Fernando L. Hicap said in a statement.

“The unregulated middleman system in the fish trade results in manipulation of farmgate and market prices which are detrimental to small fishers and ordinary consumers,” he added.

Mr. Hicap proposed that instead of imports, the Department of Agriculture should directly procure from fisherfolk and set a standard retail price.

“Instead of imports, which are harmful to the fishing industry, the government should intervene by imposing a price ceiling on fish that (is) reasonable and beneficial to local producers, retailers, and consumers. This effort would preempt greedy wholesalers and traders from manipulating the price of galunggong and other fishery products that serve as primary protein sources for many Filipinos,” Mr. Hicap said.

On Jan. 17, the DA said it had issued certificates of necessity to import 60,000 metric tons of small frozen pelagic fish, in order to ease rising prices and augment supply in typhoon-hit areas. — Luisa Maria Jacinta