Galunggong imports may have come from PHL waters — BFAR

The additional supply of galunggong (round scad) into the country set to be imported next month may have originally come from Philippine waters, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said Thursday.

In an interview on GMA New TV's "News to Go," BFAR Director Eduardo Gongona said the 17,000 metric tons of round scad may be the fish that Filipino fishermen were unable to catch due to limited capabilities.

"Ang duda ko, baka naman 'yung ini-import natin ay galing pa sa atin 'yun ‘di ba, kasi nakatakas nga," Gongona said in the interview.

According to Gongona, the supply may have escaped and migrated to overseas waters, as local fishermen do not have the capacity to catch them due to limited equipment.

"Kasi 'pag hindi mo mahuhuli yung medium to large galunggong, may migratory demand 'yan at lalabas 'yan sa outskirts ng Philippine waters," he explained.

"Alam niyo naman 'pag sa outskirts na natin, maraming nangingisda din - 'yung Malaysia, 'yung Vietnamese, Taiwanese, China, diba, Thailand nangingisda diyan" he added.

The BFAR earlier announced the importation of 17,000 metric tons of the said fish commodity following the decrease in the production in the country.

The importation is scheduled to start on September 1, 2018, and will be sourced from China, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

To address this, Gongona said the government must provide more assistance to local fishermen for them to upgrade their equipment and ensure more harvests.

"Ang isang dapat gawin natin, 'wag nating hayaan na makalabas 'yung mga isda, mga galunggong natin. Kailangan 'pag catchable na sila, mahuli natin sila within our waters," he said. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/RSJ, GMA News