PHILIPPINES: Sardines, also called “tamban,” catch at the San Bernardino Strait in Northern Samar in ṭḥe Philippines has been decreasing since 2013.

Martha Cadano, the manager of the only sardine processor in Northern Samar, said the trend poses a challenge to the future of their business, Ken Matthew Sardines, which has 50 workers to sustain and only 500 bottles to produce.

The San Bernardino Strait connects the Samar Sea with the Philippine Sea, separating the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon from Samar Island.

It is also under Fisheries Management Area 7 (FMA) le d by the Bicol region. Other areas comprising FMA 7 are Sorsogon Bay, Ragay Gulf, Ticao-Burias Pass, Cariaga Bay, Magueda Bay, Irong-Irong Bay, and Samar Sea.

Cadano cited the decline of one of the 10 major fishery stocks in Northern Samar not only in its volume, but also in sizes, which they no longer needed to cut the fish in half during processing.

She added that the lack of an ice plant and cold storage facility also prompts farmers to sell their catch in Sorsogon.

“Since there are no storage facilities, we have to process our catch within a few hours and distribute the excess to the community for free,” she said, which means a loss for a small enterprise like them.

BFAR Eastern Visayas Assistant Regional Director Cylet Lluz said that although there is a National Sardines Management Plan signed by the Department of Agriculture (DA) aiming to address the alarming decline of the sardine stocks in the country, FMAs cannot implement a one size fits all policy.

Source: Manila Buletin

SPAIN: The non-profit organization Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announces that the National Association of Freezer Tuna Vessel Owners (ANABAC) has started the evaluation process to certify its catches of skipjack tuna in the Indian Ocean under the MSC Fisheries Standard. .

After almost a year of auditing process, in June 2021, ANABAC obtained MSC certification for its yellowfin tuna (Thunnus Albacares) fished in free schools in the Atlantic Ocean. This process followed all the steps of full assessment under the strict MSC Fisheries Standard, including peer review, site visit, the process of submitting claims by all interested parties and the various interim reports published in the MSC website.

Widely recognized as the world's most rigorous and credible extractive fisheries sustainability assessment process, the MSC Fisheries Standard certifies well-managed, sustainable fisheries and is based on three fundamental principles: healthy fish stocks; minimization of the impact on the marine environment as a whole; and an effective fisheries management system. ANABAC's certification will be carried out by the independent certifier Bureau Veritas for the three principles mentioned.

In the event that the evaluation is completed successfully, the skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) caught by purse-seine gear and in all its modalities, both free school and on fish aggregating devices (FADs) may look the MSC sustainable fishing identification, the blue seal.

The fishery is made up of eight vessels, which are Izurdia, Doniene, Playa de Aritzatxu, Playa de Ris, Artza, Morne Blanc, Morn Seselwa and Playa de Anzoras, owned by the companies ATUNSA and PEVASA, four of which have a Spanish flag and another four are flagged to the Seychelles. The fishing zone corresponds to the entire Indian Ocean and, specifically, to FAO zones 51 and 57.

Currently, a total of 21 vessels are attached to this association, fishing mainly yellowfin tuna (yellow fin tuna) and skipjack tuna in the tropical waters of the Atlantic (from Mauritania to Angola) and Indian Oceans (from the eastern African coast to the Chagos Islands) both inside and outside the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of the coastal countries, since tuna is a highly migratory species and is not permanently located in a given fishing ground.

“Following the first MSC certification of the Atlantic Ocean tuna free school fishery, obtained last year, the assessment of our Indian Ocean skipjack fishery is the natural step taken by ANABAC in its plan to certify under the Fisheries Standard MSC all its fisheries”. Borja Soroa, president of ANABAC.

“A year ago we celebrated the MSC certification for the Atlantic yellowfin tuna catches of the Anabac fleet. We are pleased that the association has now decided to assess its catches of skipjack tuna in the Indian Ocean by undergoing the independent and participatory assessment process of the MSC standard. We wish the member companies of ANABAC much success in the process”. Laura Rodríguez, MSC Program Director for Spain and Portugal.

Source: MSC

MALAYSIA: The government is providing assistance, including funding through Agrobank, that can be used by deep sea fishing industry players to modernise vessels and fishing mechanisms, said Agriculture and Food Industries Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee.

He said the initiatives are not only to help industry players but also to attract more parties to explore the deep-sea fishing sector. “Funding is provided by the government through Agrobank, and we hope that industry players take advantage of the assistance.

“We are focusing on the deep-sea fishing industry, which has not been fully explored. This is in line with the National Agrofood Policy 2.0, as it is not only for the continuity of food supply but also opens opportunities to export deep sea fishing resources,” he told reporters after launching a fish processing plant and cold storage facility, here today.

In the meantime, he said that the tuna fishing industry has great potential as a new source of wealth for Sabah but has not been fully explored.

“The waters of Sabah are rich in deep sea fishing resources that have not yet been explored; these tunas are migratory, unfortunately, they are not caught. Deep sea fishing is a great economic resource to increase the state's income,” he said.

From January to August this year, Malaysia recorded 55,138.63 MT of tuna landed, worth more than RM491 million.

Meanwhile, Agrobank chief executive officer, Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah Raja Hussin, said that the government, through the bank, is providing RM150 million in funding this year to help the fishing industry players.

“In the first phase (of this year), thus far, we have received and approved 37 applications, and have disbursed RM132 million to applicants to finance fishing boats in terms of modernisation - from wooden to fibre vessels, and equipment purchase.

“As for the second phase, as much as RM200 million in funds will be provided next year,” he said.

He said that Agrobank welcomes applications from local fishermen and together develop the fishing industry towards achieving a sufficient food supply for the people's consumption, thus reducing dependence on imports.

Source: Bernama