15th National Tuna Congress highlight resolutions

The 15th National Tuna Congress was successfully held on September 6-7, 2013 at the Trade Hall of SM City General Santos. This year, was a celebration to strengthen the partnership between and among the private sector players, government agencies and their officials as well as to the many suppliers, sponsors and followers of the tuna industries.

Joaquin Lu, chairman of the Tuna Congress, during the press briefing said that the resolutions is a call for the creation of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources from its status of a bureau, to more effectively address national fisheries concerns and provide the country greater leverage in international ministerial conferences and agreements. He further explained that the confab will also call for Congressional action for the rationalization of the Cabotage Law and the formulation of the implementing rules and regulations of the Handline Fishing Law.

One of the resolutions of this 15th national tuna congress reiterated the request for Congress to expedite the passage of a law creating a DFAR and for the President to certify the proposed bill as a priority or urgent measure.

Joaquin Lu, president of the Socsksargen Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries, Inc. and chair of the 15th National Tuna Congress makes the opening of the Congress. He said the creation of a permanent fisheries committee to represent the country in Regional Fisheries Management Organizations would significantly help in sustaining the local tuna industry.

Secretary Luwalhati Antonino, chair of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), during her keynote address at the tuna congress, pushed for the creation of a Philippine Committee for the Advancement of Migratory Fisheries (PCAMF), a body to represent the Philippines in Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) like the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).