Cayetano backs Department of Fisheries
LINGAYEN—The major stakeholders in the fishery industry are demanding for more government support, particularly for the creation of the Department of Fisheries and one senator has pledged to help make it a reality.
The fish producers that participated in the First National Fishery Producers’ Congress were one in lamenting the inequitable support of the government, with agriculture taking a much larger share under the umbrella of the Department of Agriculture.
The Philippine Association of Fish Producers, Inc. (PAFPI) led by Eduardo Maramba, said the fishery sector should be separated from agriculture by creating a department dedicated to the development of the fishery industry alone.
“A department can attend more to our needs,” he intoned.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, one of the speakers in the congress, agreed and pledged to support PAFPI’s proposal.
The senator acknowledged that the fishery industry has completely different issues and requirements that government must address, i.e., infrastructures (cold storage facilities, ports, etc.) internal structure and logistics, import and export clearances, certification and permit, and non-tariff measures.
Cayetano said a Department of Fishery would definitely command a bigger budget for the industry instead of having to rely on the Bureau of Fishery and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), a mere agency of the Department of Agriculture.
Maramba added that most nations have a separate department for their fishery industry and the Philippines would be a serious disadvantage once the economic integration program of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is fully implemented.
He said local fish producers face several problems including fish kill and relatively high production costs even so he decried that the fry supplies of the country are still imported from other countries.
He cited the case of bangus (milkfish) fry wherein 60% of the total bangus (milkfish) fry supplies in the country are being imported from Indonesia.
“What will happen to us if Indonesia chooses to stop exporting their fry to us?” he said.
He also mentioned many investors in the fishery industry “come and go” also because of high production costs.
Maramba said the county’s food security is already at risk.
Meanwhile, Board Member Amado Espino III, who also graced the event, thanked the champions of the fishery industry for helping sustain the livelihood of thousands of families in the province.
The national congress was anchored on the theme, “Positioning the Philippine Fishery Industry towards Competitiveness under the ASEAN Economic Integration.” (Johanne Macob)
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