Greenpeace urges local tuna industry to practice sustainable fishing methods

Activist environmental group Greenpeace on Sunday called on the local tuna industry to practice sustainable fishing methods, in light of the worldwide decline of tuna stocks.

In a statement, Mark Dia, Regional Oceans Campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia said:  “The government should ensure sustainability in our seas so that tuna fisheries can continue, securing the livelihood of millions of fisher folk.”

The environmental group reiterated its stance on responsible fishing at the 15th Tuna Congress, held in General Santos City last September 6-7.

In a phone interview, Dia told GMA News Online that the problem lies in the methodology of fishing and not fishing itself.

A common method which greatly decreases tuna populations is purse sein fishing.

In purse seine fishing, small fish are used to lure bigger fish into a fish shelter (payaw) or fish aggregating devices (FADs), where they will be surrounded by a wall of net. When a sufficient number of fish is in the shelter, the net around it will be “pursed” or strung from the bottom and the catch, including all kinds and sizes of fish, is hauled unto a ship.

Greenpeace said that while they are not against purse seine method, they had concerns on the effects it has with "non-targeted species" and the pressure it puts on the local populations of fish.

Since this fishing method does not discriminate in the type and sizes of fish it catches, it also catches juvenile fishes.

Dia said, a yellowfin tuna needs at least a year to mature into a size of two meters. Female bigeye tuna need two years to grow a length of at least 0.8 to 1.2 two meters to reach sexual maturity.

Other forms of fishing are also negatively affected by the overfishing using purse seine. Long-line and hand-line fishing methods are in decline because of the increase in demand for purse seine fishing. Fishing line methods are used to catch mature tuna for sashimi.

Raul Gonzales, spokesperson for the Alliance of Tuna hand-liners, raised concerns on how large-scale purse seining is affecting their livelihoods.

“Our livelihoods are already threatened. The hook and line tuna industry is being sacrificed for canned tuna… We ask that the government act now to ensure that juvenile tuna catches in the purse seine fisheries are reduced. Urgent reduction in excess purse seine fishing capacity must also be implemented,” he said.

“Without strong action to stop overfishing and overcapacity in the fleets,  fishing companies as well as coastal communities will suffer huge losses as the stocks decline..," said Sari Tolvanen, Oceans Campaigner for Greenpeace International, also in the statement.

“Instead of continuously trying to seek exceptions to conservation measures, the Philippines should instead work more closely with the rest of the Pacific region and help put in place strong science-based management measures that can help stop overfishing,” said Dia.


During the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) workshop held in Japan last September 5, Greenpeace denounced the agreement for a reduction of blue-fin tuna catching, and instead demanded a total ban of FADs. (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-05/an3apacific-nations-agree-to-cut-bluefin-tuna-catches/4939174) — LBG, GMA News