A militant fisherfolk group in the Philippines, Pamalakaya, on Thursday accused three Asian countries of “ocean grabbing” in the waters off Aurora province.
The group made the allegation a day after Olivier de Schutter, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food warned governments that small fishermen, local fishing communities and sustainable fishing are threatened by by ocean grabbing or long-distance, industrial-scale trawling.
Pamalakaya national chairperson Fernando Hicap scored the ocean grabbing of Japanese, Taiwanese and South Korean industrial fishing fleets in the waters of Aurora province, which are regularly monitored by small fishermen.
Hicap said the industrial fleets are seen catching first rate tuna off the waters of Aurora, which is part of Asia Pacific Ocean.
Fishermen said that huge industrial fishing fleets owned by Japanese, Taiwanese and South Korean tuna operators are periodically seen from January to July every year.
In 2008, fishermen reported seeing long-line fishing gears being used in the hauling of tuna, blue marlin and other high value fish species.
These foreign fishing vessels even entered in the 15-kilometer municipal fishing waters from the shoreline, Hicap added.
Hicap said Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese fishing vessels that frequented Baler Bay in Aurora province between January to July every year to fish for tuna was confirmed by the Philippine Coast Guard.
He said Sen. Edgardo Angara in 2008 also bared that eight foreign fishing vessels, some owning canneries, were seen almost daily during the months from January to July.
The senator even asked the PCG to establish a station in Northern Aurora and assign patrol boats to protect the province’s waters from foreign poachers, Hicap added.
Hicap noted that a 3,000-ton tuna factory ship, accompanied by support fishing fleets, can catch as much as 150 metric tons of tuna on a 24-hour operation basis.
By industry standard, he said that a single factory ship could harvest 50,000 metric tons of tuna per year.
2011. Philstar Global Corp.