GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/16 Sept) – Tuna industry players here are seeking the immediate deferment and review of the implementation of an administrative order issued earlier this year by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) that imposed various fees, including a 3-percent levy on the export value of tuna species and products.
Marfenio Tan, president of the Socsksargen Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries Inc.
(SFFAII), said Thursday they have asked the Department of Agriculture (DA) to “hold in abeyance” the implementation of BFAR’s Fisheries Administrative Order 233, which included tuna in its “preliminary list of economically important aquatic organisms” that were subjected to new regulations and fees.
He said “tuna and other tuna-like species” should not be included in the list as it is already covered by specific regulations imposed by BFAR under the Philippine Tuna Management Plan and other fisheries management organizations like the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), of which the Philippines is a member.
“These new regulations and fees should be scrapped as they will only render the tuna industry less competitive and cause adverse economic impact that may permanently damage or kill the industry,” Tan said.
BFAR issued FAO 233, which is known as Aquatic Wildlife Conservation, in April this year pursuant to Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act of 2001.
Section 25 of the FAO 233 identified the non‐threatened aquatic wildlife and economically important species, among which was tuna and tuna-like species, covered by the Aquatic Wildlife Conservation regulations.
