Small fishers belonging to the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) criticized the plan of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Bfar) to import tilapia.
Pamalakaya said the government should instead make fishing areas accessible so that Filipino fishermen can catch more and boost the country’s supply of fish.
The group also urged the government to strengthen local food producers and end reliance on imports to boost the country’s fish self-sufficiency.
“There are plenty of fish in the Philippine seas, why not make them more accessible and affordable to poor consumers instead of importing deficient varieties?” Pamalakaya National Chairman Fernando Hicap said in a statement.
Hicap was referring to the proposal to import at least 400,000 metric tons (MT) of staple fish products such as galunggong (round scad) and tilapia (St. Peter’s fish), purportedly to address the projected shortfall in supply.
Citing the food supply outlook of the Department of Agriculture, Pamalakaya said the Philippines will have a deficit of 42 days’ worth of fish supply by year-end. For round scad, for instance, the country’s supply is estimated at 53,925 MT, while the demand is at 105,690 MT.
“When will the DA ever learn that resorting to importation every time there is a fish shortage will never address this yearly cycle of a fisheries crisis?” asked Hicap, a former Anakpawis representative.
“While we recognize that there may be an actual shortage in fisheries production brought about by the pandemic, the common sense solution is to fortify government intervention and adequately support the local production. Opening our floodgates for imports would do more harm than good, especially to the small fishers who will be left at a disadvantage,” he added.
The group has been opposing the purchase of fish from abroad as it puts “the local fishers at a disadvantage.”
Imported fishery and marine products, the group said, “out-competes and further pulls down farm-gate prices of fresh and locally caught fish.”