No 'tamban’ shortage, BFAR says

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) on Monday said there is no shortage of "tamban" supply in the market, contradicting the claims of some fishing groups.

Interviewed on Dobol B TV, BFAR spokesperson Nazario Briguera said the sufficiency levels of tamban during the first and second quarter were at over 200% and 400%, respectively.

“Unang-una, ito ay isang alegasyon na diumano'y magkukulang ang supply ng tamban... Straightforward natin pong sasabihin wala po tayong kakulangan sa supply ngayon ng tamban,” he said.

(First of all, this was an allegation that the supply of tamban will be short. I will say straightforwardly that we have no shortage of tamban right now.)

Asked about a report on lack of available tamban in a market, Briguera said the BFAR will verify this first as he reiterated that there is no shortage of tamban based on its data.

According to Briguera, the recent bad weather probably affected fishing activities which might have affected the supply of tamban.

A report on GTV's State of the Nation earlier said acoording to Zamboanga City Fish Broker Association and Southern Philippines Deep Sea Fishing Association Inc., there are fewer and fewer fishermen who are sailing due to high fuel prices.

They also attributed the limited supply to the fisheries law that prohibits commercial fishing vessels from municipal waters or around 15 kilometers from the coastline unless local governments will give them permission. —KBK, GMA News