Fishers draw up commitments for Coral Triangle sustainability

Representatives of fishing firms operating in the Coral Triangle on Wednesday outlined measures to reduce the impact of their businesses on the world's most important marine region. More than 160 delegates — mainly representing governments, as well as the seafood, travel and tourism industries — gathered in Manila for the two-day Coral Triangle Business Summit that started last Tuesday to kick-start dialogues on how industries could contribute to the protection of the Coral Triangle, a statement said. Participants included leaders from tuna and live reef fish businesses, airlines and resort owners, as well as government ministers and officials, and leaders of non-government organizations. "The signing of the public-private partnership is a symbol of our common desire to protect the Coral Triangle," Acting Environment Secretary Eleazar P. Quinto said in his closing remarks. "I hope this would provide more partnerships in the future." "The private sector has shown it is willing to take greater responsibility for the millions of livelihood that depend on the health of the marine environment in this part of the world," Lida Pet-Soede, head of World Wildlife Fund's Coral Triangle Program, said in the same statement. The Coral Triangle harbors about 600 species of reef-building coral, three-quarters of all known coral species, and over 3,000 species of reef fish. It holds nearly three-fourths of the world's mangrove species. The 2.3-million square mile area covers the Philippines, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Sabah in Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The area directly sustains the lives of nearly 130 million people and contains key spawning and nursery grounds for tuna. In the seafood sector, fishing operators and buyers agreed to address the problem of overcapacity and overfishing through a number of measures, including: • ensuring that fish are not sourced from illegal, unregulated and unreported operations; • implementing catch and trade documentation schemes to facilitate traceability; • use of third-party certification schemes; • reducing by-catch (including juvenile fish) by adopting appropriate technologies and techniques; and • promoting low-carbon fish production methods and trade practices. Discussions during the summit showed that technology will play a big role in developing sustainable fishing practices in the area. The statement quoted Martin Brugman, president of global seafood supplier Culimer B.V., as saying that "ultra-low temperature production of tuna... allows for better quality fish when it's landed and helps fishermen get by, taking less fish from the oceans but making more dollars."