Time to consider the creation of a Dep’t of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources

he recent decision of President Duterte to return the National Food Authority (NFA), the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), and the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) to the Department of Agriculture (DA) was a most welcome news. These four agencies were carved out of DA during the B.S. Aquino administration ostensibly to relieve an overburdened Secretary of Agriculture, and were placed under the supervision and control of a Presidential Assistant in the Office of the President.

Since the functions of these agencies are key components of land-based agriculture, their separation from their sister agencies i.e. Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), Bureau of Soil and Water management (BSWM), Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) did not make sense from a coordination and governance point of view. If in fact the rationale for separation was to reduce the span of work and accountability of the Agriculture Secretary, the better option would have been the natural split between land-based agriculture from aquatic-based industry.

Indeed now that these major agencies are back with the DA where they naturally belong, it is time to consider the creation of a separate Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DFAR) to give fisheries and aquatic resources development the attention they deserve.

Unfortunately, secretaries of agriculture are invariably drawn to the challenges of the production of rice, corn, coconut, sugarcane, poultry and livestock leaving then little precious time for fisheries. The solitary Director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in DA is almost always left on his own. A proper Department for fisheries should redress this historical oversight.

The poorest Filipinos among the poor are the 1.6 million households of fisherfolk and coastal dwellers who rely on fishing for a significant part of their food needs and incomes. The disparity was clearly demonstrated in a survey in 2000, which showed that the mean annual income of households whose heads were fishermen was only versus for households in general.

And yet we have vast fisheries and aquatic resources which we have not sufficiently tapped. While we have only 10 million hectares of lands suitable for agriculture out of a total land mass of 30 million hectares, we have 220 million hectares of territorial waters including our exclusive economic zone (EEZ), 750,000 hectares of inland waters (lakes, rivers, reservoirs) and a coastline of 17,460 kilometers.

The fishing industry contributed billion to our economy in 2015. There are three subsectors, namely 1) commercial fisheries, 2) municipal fisheries and 3) aquaculture, each of which contributed

billion, billion, and billion, respectively.

Municipal fishing is catching of fish with boats weighing three tons or less. Commercial fishing is fishing with boats with tonnage in excess of three tons. Coastal waters within 15 kilometers from shore are reserved for small, artisanal, municipal fishermen.

On the other hand, artificial culture of fish (aquaculture) is conducted in three kinds of water environments i.e. in 1) inland fresh waters, 2) coastal brackish waters, and 3) salty marine waters. Their values of production in 2015 were

billion, billion and billion, respectively. The principal cultured fish/ aquatic species are milkfish, tilapia, shrimp/prawns and seaweeds.

Sadly, fisheries production like most of the rest of agriculture is declining or at best stagnant during the last decade. Our inland and coastal waters are degraded and overfished. We have not invested enough in modern vessels and fishing gear to enable our commercial fishing fleet to go far into deep waters and into our EEZ and beyond. We have not done enough to establish fish ports with the appropriate dry and cold storage facilities to minimize post harvest losses which can go as high as 25–40 percent. We have not invested enough in aquaculture and development of fish products that can compete in the world market.

The degree of underexploitation of our fisheries and aquatic resources is most empathically shown by our fish and fish products exports compared with our ASEAN neighbors which have far less fisheries resources than we do (except Indonesia which is archipelagic like us).

In 2015, our fish and fish production exports amounted to only US$473 million. For the same year, the fish exports of Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand were US$4.3 billion, US$2.6 billion, and US$1.7 billion, respectively. Considering our vast fisheries resources there is absolutely no reason we cannot aspire to export US$2.0 billion.

The new DFAR will have its hands full from Day One. Following are at least four very important initiatives requiring immediate attention which are obviously beyond the capacity of a small agency like the current BFAR, and thereby justify the creation of a new department.

The obvious most immediate need is to arrest the progressive decline of fish catch in our inland waters and coastal waters. The fishing efforts of both commercial and municipal fishers are beyond sustainable levels. We need to protect and rehabilitate our coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass and algae beds, and other soft-bottom communities. We need to establish more protected areas and sanctuaries where the fish may spawn and resolutely enforce close fishing seasons to allow immature, juvenile fish to grow to marketable size.

Of special concern are the coral reef areas covering 27,000 square kilometers which contribute 20 percent of total capture fisheries. Philippine coral reefs are world renown for being home to 533 species of corals and about 2,500 marine fish species. In comparison the world famous barrier reef in Australia has only 350 coral species and 1500 fish species.

Due to wanton physical destruction of coral reefs as well as overfishing, fish abundance in our coral reef waters had been estimated to have declined to 50-20 tons fish per square kilometer compared with 100 tons per square kilometer for pristine coral reefs.

National Scientist Angel Alcala of Silliman University estimates that only about 1,250 square kilometers or five percent of the total coral reef areas are covered by marine sanctuaries. Thus, we have a long way to go to approach the 15 percent target. Moreover of the existing marine protected areas (MPAs) established by BFAR and the local government units (LGUs) and managed with the support of local communities and NGOs, only 20–25 percent are considered functioning effectively.

We can alleviate intense fishing pressure on near shore stocks and minimize conflict between municipal and commercial fishers by encouraging and providing incentives to the latter to acquire modern and fishing gear to enable them to go farther into deep waters into our EEZ and beyond. However, we need to conduct exploratory fishing in the EEZ waters and strategic non-traditional fishing grounds to determine their full biological and economic potential. By one estimate we can harvest as much as 200,000–300,000 metric tons per year from our EEZ.

Compared with the aquaculture industries in Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, we have a long way to go in further expanding fish pens, fish cages and fish ponds in our lakes, rivers, reservoirs, in coastal, brackish water areas as well as sea-based aquaculture (mariculture.) We need to improve hatchery and grow-out technologies for existing species and provide investment incentives to hatcheries and brood stock farms. We need to scale up research and development (R&D) on biology, breeding, fry production, nutrition, culture and fish health for new species like crabs, seabass, groupers, abalone and may be even the Pacific Bluefin tuna. We need to invest and develop more large scale mariculture parks, provided certain areas are reserved for small fishermen and their cooperatives. Locators in these mariculture parks can be provided incentives like in export processing zones.

There is so much upside potential for our fisheries sector. However, in addition to addressing the technological, ecological and economic challenges, we need to have the appropriate fisheries policies, management systems and institutions in place. Additional efforts are needed to strengthen the management capabilities of LGUs, national government organizations (NGOs) and local communities whose participation and cooperation are pivotal in natural resources management. Better coordination is needed among agencies for the proper enforcement of fisheries rules and regulations.

Inconsistencies and conflicts in policies and bureaucratic jurisdictions such as those between intensive fisheries development and environment conservation need to be resolved. The brewing conflict in the disposition of fish pens in Laguna de Bay is a case in point.

We are therefore encouraged to note that a separate department for fisheries enjoys broad support in Congress. At least 10 bills have been filed during the current 17th Congress with the following authors: Representatives Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Arthur Yap, Raul Tupas, Teddy Brawner Baguilat, Tomasito Villarin, Deogracias Ramos, Jr., Maximo Rodriguez, Jr., Benhur Salimbangon, Kaka Bag-ao, Rodel Batocabe, Alfredo Garbin and Christopher Co.

They have our full support. We wish them well.