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Fish self-sufficiency still a gov't priority despite import plans: BFAR

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Job Manahan and Jervis Manahan, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/11/15/20220721-marikina-fish-market-jc-3226.jpg"/><figcaption>Residents take advantage of fresh seafood products as they buy their needs at the Marikina market in Marikina City on July 21, 2022. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA — The Marcos administration is still prioritizing seafood self-sufficiency despite its plan to import 25,000 metric tons of fish, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said Tuesday. While the import plan is necessary to ensure adequate fish supply this closed fishing season, it does not mean that the administration&#x27;s fish sufficiency plan is being neglected, said BFAR Information and Fisherfolk Coordination Unit head Nazario Briguera. During closed fishing season, corporations are barred from fishing for 3 months to allow fish to repopulate. To ensure enough fish supply in wet markets, the Department of Agriculture last week approved the importation of 25,000 metric tons of frozen round scad or galunggong, bigeye scad, mackerel, bonito, and moonfish from November to January 2023.&quot;Sa pangkalaunan, ang layunin po talaga natin ay fish sufficiency. At sinasabi po natin na itong mga ginagawa natin na conservation measures katulad po ng closed fishing season, ito po ay patungo doon sa pagkamit natin ng fish sufficiency, na maging sustainable po. Long-term iyong tinitingnan kasi po natin,&quot; Briguera said in a televised briefing.(In the long run, our goal is fish sufficiency. And our conservation measures like the closed fishing season are meant to achieve fish sufficiency, making this sustainable. We are looking at the long-term.)<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/11/11/22/philippines-to-import-25000-mt-of-fish-to-boost-year-end-supply">Philippines to import 25,000 metric tons of fish to augment year-end supply</a></li></ul><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2342240" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div>Video from PTV </div>&quot;Kapag patuloy po natin itong sinuportahan, in fact, ngayon patuloy po itong nagbibigay ng positibong resulta, malapit na po tayo sa sinasabi nating kasiguruhan sa produksyon ng isda dahil nasisiguro po natin na ang ating karagatan ay patuloy na nagbibigay ng biyaya para po sa ating bansa,&quot; he added. (If we continue to support this, we get closer to our goal of achieving positive results in ensuring adequate fish supply. We want our waters to continue giving us fish.) Briguera noted that the 25,000 metric tons to be imported would fill just half of the expected deficit in local fish supply during the closed season. The rest will be sourced through local aquaculture producers, he said.Fisherfolk group Pamalakaya, meanwhile, urged the agency to stop declaring a closed fishing season and focus instead on the alleged hoarding of fish in storage facilities. The group said importation was killing their source of livelihood. &quot;Kapag bumabaha ang importasyon, hindi kayang makasabay ng lokal na isda dahil mas mababa presyo ng imported kaya ang nangyayari sa mga mangingisda, napipilitan nilang ibigay sa mas mura kahit palugi kesa mawalan saysay ang kanilang huli,&quot; Pamalakaya spokesperson Ronnel Arambulo said. (When the imported supply floods in, local fishermen cannot compete because imports are cheaper, forcing fisherfolk to sell their catch at a lower price.)Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban defended the import plan, saying fish supply would dwindle by the last week of November. &quot;Marami ang tumututol pero hindi naman rational eh... spawning season ngayon eh, so mawawalan ng isda, ibig bang sabihin titigil tayo ng pagkain dahil sa import?&quot; he said. (Many are against this but they are not rational. It&#x27;s the spawning season so some types of fish will not be available. Does that mean we will stop eating because of imports?)President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., who also heads the agriculture department, recently sought Indonesia&#x27;s help to bolster the local fisheries sector. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/09/06/22/marcos-seeks-indonesias-help-for-ph-fishery-sector">‘Hindi ko matanggap’: Marcos seeks Indonesia’s help for PH fishery sector after galunggong importation</a></li></ul><div>— with a report from Pia Gutierrez, ABS-CBN News</div>

The Marcos administration is still prioritizing seafood self-sufficiency despite its plan to import 25,000 metric tons of fish, the BFAR said. 

Fish self-sufficiency still a gov't priority despite import plans: BFAR

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Fish self-sufficiency still a gov't priority despite import plans: BFAR

Job Manahan and Jervis Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published November 15, 2022 06:49 PM PHT

Read More:

Pamalakaya

fishery

BFAR

fishing season

fishermen

fish supply

importation

food

food security

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