The Philippine government intends to ask some eight countries in the Pacific Islands to extend the ban on tuna fishing at the annual meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission in December.
"We will [also] request the commission to open the high seas. We are preparing our argument. I cannot tell you the details," said Malcolm Sarmiento, director of Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, in an interview with reporters Thursday.
The commission implemented in January 2010 a two-year absolute ban on commercial fishing in the high seas near the economic zones of a group of countries in the Pacific Islands, which is composed of Palau, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.
Sarmiento said the ban was enforced to stop the rapidly depleting stocks of tuna, particularly the yellow fin and big-eyed tuna species.
"We are hoping that the commission will hear our request. If they refuse to reopen, I think we have to plead for preferential treatment for our vessels," he said.
He added, "We have other countries backing us. I cannot disclose their identities but we have ample confidence that they will be with us throughout the argument."
The commission is a treaty-based organization established to conserve and manage tuna and other highly migratory fish stocks across the western and central areas of the Pacific Ocean. —JE,
