BFAR mulls moratorium on crackdown vs imported fish
THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) on Wednesday said it was considering imposing a moratorium on the crackdown of imported frozen fish in wet markets amid criticisms that it was anti-poor.
In a radio interview, Nazario Briguer, BFAR Information and Fisherfolk Coordination Unit chief, said he had informed BFAR Officer in Charge Demosthenes Escoto on
the developments in the Senate after Senators Raffy Tulfo and Mary Grace Poe questioned the move of the agency to crack down on pampano and salmon starting on Dec. 4, 2022.
“It can be discussed by the top management regarding the recommended moratorium. BFAR is open as I spoke with our BFAR OIC last night and gave feedback on the privilege speech in the Senate,” Briguera said.
In a privilege speech on Tuesday, Tulfo said the ban on the sale of pampano and salmon in the wet markets was anti-poor.
For her part, Poe said that BFAR should implement a moratorium on the crackdown, saying it is untimely amid the Christmas celebration.
Briguera added that BFAR is also ready to explain to senators the legality of the campaign of BFAR, saying it is provided under Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) 195.
“We will abide by the directive of the Senate to explain our side and according to our head, we will comply at the soonest time possible or based on the time given to us by the Senate,” Briguera said.
Briguera said prior to the issuance of FAO 195 in 1999, “consultations were conducted through the National Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council among representatives from the municipal fisherfolks, commercial fishers, from the postharvest, from the aquaculture, academe and
non-governmental organizations.”
He said BFAR welcomes calls for a review of FAO 195 and amendments “if necessary.”
Briguera said the ban on sale of imported frozen fish products does not only cover pampano and salmon but also covers “other unauthorized imported fish in the market.”
He said vendors should be able to present import permits for round scad, bigeye scad, mackerel, bonito and moonfish to prove that the fish being sold were part of the 25,000 metric tons of imported fish allowed by the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban issued Special Order 1002 allowing the 25,000 metric tons of frozen round scad, bigeye scad, mackerel, bonito and moonfish amid the implementation of closed fishing season from Nov. 1, 2022 to Jan. 31, 2023.
No pork shortage
Meanwhile, farmers’ group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag) Executive Director Jayson Cainglet contradicted the claim of the DA that there was a shortage of pork products in the country, saying that at least 110 million kilos of imported frozen meat are still in different cold storage facilities.
Cainglet added that the pork stocks could even last until the first quarter of 2023.
He branded those claiming that there is shortage of pork supply as “economic saboteurs.”
“Government data would show that cold storages for pork imports
are overflowing. The stocks in the warehouses are unprecedented. The imported frozen meats are even increasing,” Cainglet said.
Cainglet was reacting to the statement by Lani Plata Cerna, Bureau of Animal Industry Livestock Research and Development supervising science research specialist, that there is a slight shortage in pork supply in the last quarter, saying the country is 95 percent sufficient compared to the 121 percent sufficiency level in the third quarter.
“The cold storage facilities are beyond their capacity. This week, it is at 110 million kilos, the biggest recorded stock of pork imports’” Sinag Chairman Rosendo So said.
So said that there are also imported frozen pork products that are still in reefer vans and have yet to be transferred in cold storage facilities.
DA egged
Philippine Egg Board Association Chairman Gregorio San Diego on Wednesday lamented the lack of support by the DA for egg producers amid a spike in prices and the effects brought by high input prices and the bird flu outbreak.
In a radio interview, San Diego said that three months after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. called the egg producers and other farmers’ groups in Malacañang, the DA has yet to act on their concerns.
San Diego said that egg producers are not earning despite the spike in the retail prices of eggs and “until now the DA has yet to conduct consultations.”