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‘Predictions range from rarity to total collapse of many food fish species 20-30 years from now, unless important fish stocks, including the diversity of fish species, are protected in at least 30 percent of the marine areas of the country.’
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Developments in fisheries management
Our marine capture fisheries have been considered by many authorities as depleted. Indeed, there are many pieces of evidence based on research data showing various degrees of depletion throughout the Philippine Archipelago. Predictions range from rarity to total collapse of many food fish species 20-30 years from now, unless important fish stocks, including the diversity of fish species, are protected in at least 30 percent of the marine areas of the country. These protected areas are expected to replenish the species that are fished to support the increasing number of people that are continuously added to the Philippine population.
However, some optimists in the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) claim that if aquaculture of few species is vigorously promoted, there is a certain probability that the predicted scenario will not happen. I had a brief talk with Director Malcolm Sarmiento Jr. of BFAR regarding the prospects of aquaculture at a time when global climate change is occurring. He revealed some research findings indicating breakthroughs in the use of naturally occurring feeds and in the feeding of cultured tilapia that simulates their natural feeding behavior. The new feeding regime increases the efficiency of aquaculture.
He also revealed BFAR’s current management directions, namely, the stopping of the deployment of Fishery Aggregating Devices (FADs) and the stopping of the issuance of licenses to commercial fishers in fishery-depleted areas unless they adhere to certain conditions; in short, limiting access to certain fishing areas. He further revealed that a BFAR research vessel will be patrolling municipal waters during the breeding seasons of fish to implement these management regulations. We commend the BFAR and Director Sarmiento for their courage and political will to manage our depleted fisheries.
These regulations were, in fact, recommended sometime ago, and it is refreshing to hear from the Director that they will be implemented at this time. For example, the FADs have been shown to be an anti-conservation fishing tool because they allow the removal of juvenile tuna and other pelagic species. During my visit, I also discussed with the Director a research program involving the BFAR in the Central Visayas, the Alcala Marine Laboratories at Silliman University, and the James Cook University in Townsville, Australia on "Age-Based Studies of Fish." These studies will focus on fish samples found in the markets of the Central Visayas. This is a long-term study that will enlarge our understanding of fish and fisheries in the area. It is expected that the information gathered will be used in the management of these resources to avert the predicted collapse of fisheries.
The proposed studies will complement our on-going studies on larval connectivity of marine reserves in the Bohol Sea and the Sulu Sea. The portion of the Bohol Sea that connects with the Sulu Sea is one of the most productive areas of the Philippines as a result of upwellings that allow nutrients from the sea bottom to flow upwards to be used in phytoplankton production. This phytoplankton is the basis of the food chain ending in the production of carnivorous fish exemplified by the tunas and tuna-like fishes.
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