Tuna industry facing hard times

Local tuna producers raise alarm worried over rising fuel costs, dwindling tuna catches and constricting fishing grounds.

South Cotabato Boat Owner and Tuna Association president Domingo Teng said that they are raising this alarm because the volume of landed catch has dramatically reduced in the first semester of this year. Teng made this statement a week before the Socsksargen Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries again hosts the 10th Annual Tuna Congress.
General Santos City Fish Port Authority manager Mike Lamberte also revealed that landed tuna catch in General Santos City from January to June has dramatically dropped by as much as 34 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Teng also said many fishing vessels have been grounded because of rising fuel costs. He added that last year the industry players blamed rising global temperature as one of the primary causes of reduced catch. But this year, they put the blame squarely on high fuel costs. It is no doubt that the tuna industry has been one of the few bright sectors in Philippine economy.

According to the Socsksargen Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries (SFFAI), the industry has generated 120,000 jobs in General Santos City alone. The dwindling catch over the last three years has severely affected production so much that in the last quarter of 2007, most canning plants in General Santos were operating at less than half their capacity.

Mariano Fernandez, president of the Tuna Canners Association of the Philippines, told that they reduced production to one shift a day instead of three shifts. Annie Cabreros, production manager of Philbest Canning Corp., informed that they are not looking at reducing the production volume. They are looking towards other sources outside our usual suppliers.

Source: Sun Star"

WorldFishingToday d. 03-09-2008