Tuna fishers to hold congress in GenSan

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – The 10th National Tuna Congress will be held in General Santos starting Wednesday with participants saying that they aim to focus on the conservation of marine resources on which the expanding tuna and aquaculture industries depend on. Expected to attend are foreign participants as well as businessmen, scientists and policy experts. Investment opportunities in tuna processing, fish farming and boat building will be presented along with initiatives in resource management, such as the tuna tagging project of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. This underscores the trans-national nature of the Pacific tuna and aquaculture industries, and the need to address their concerns jointly through various disciplines, event organizers said Monday. The two-day event is organized by SOCSKSARGEN Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries, Inc., whose members include purse seine and handline fishing groups, tuna canners, processors, and traders, and aquaculture producers. The federation said that one session will focus on the Coral Triangle initiative to conserve marine resources in the western Pacific, including the tuna spawning grounds lying off the Philippines and Indonesia. There will also be reports on local resource management efforts, such as the Sarangani Bay initiative, the Mariculture Park diversification program of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR), and the conservation policies of Papua New Guinea. The Federation was formed in 1999 and has advocated for a more competitive and sustainable tuna sector. It has also played a crucial role in turning what was once a small Mindanao industry into a force in international fisheries. Over 1,000 metric tons of fish are landed daily in SOCSKSARGEN, which comprises the provinces of South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani, and General Santos City. The area exports approximately $280 million annually in canned tuna and other processed tuna products, representing about 4 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Support for the Tuna Congress is provided by the General Santos City government, SOCSKSARGEN Area Development Project Office, 1st Congressional District of South Cotabato, DA-BFAR, Department of Trade and Industry, and USAID's Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program. – GMANews.TV