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DAVAO CITY—A
strict port policy on the Micronesian
island of
Palau
has forced many foreign fishing vessels to drop the
Davao City Fishport Complex from their ports of call,
the fishport manager here said.
The
policy has tied foreign fishing vessels registered in
Palau to unload their catch only in the Palau port, a
policy being implemented by the
Palau
government, according to Mario Malinao, manager of the
Davao City Fishport Complex.
Malinao
told a news briefing at the SM City here that the policy
has affected the routine of many fishing vessels, which,
in the past, would drop by the fishport complex here to
unload their catch of tuna that they fished inside or
near the Philippine seas.
He said
only 499 foreign fishing vessels have dropped by to
unload their catch from January to August this year.
This was compared with the 592 port calls made during
the same period last year.
The
volume of catch also correspondingly dropped over the
same period, from 3,302 (MT) to 3,202 MT.
Many of
these boats have double registration in the past, both
in the Davao fishport and in Palau, both places of which
are the usual transshipment points in
South Asia. But the new policy has barred these vessels from calling on
the
port of
Davao,
or in any other foreign ports along the Southeast Asian
waters, and mandates only that they unload their catch
in Palau.
Many of
these fishing vessels are owned by Taiwanese nationals
and have opted to have double registrations to be
allowed choices of the nearest port to unload their
catch to attract the best price from clients who look
for the sashimi-grade, or raw meat, tuna.
Malinao
describe as “risk takers” those who continue to unload
their catch here, often driven by the best price.
What the
foreign vessels have left is a vacuum and the local
fishers helped filled it up, Malinao said, and projected
a net income toward the end of the year, despite the
drop in the port of calls by foreign fishing boats.
The port
complex recorded 292 port calls over the same period
this year compared with 198 calls last year, an increase
of 32 percent. He said that Filipino deep-sea fishers
unload 56 percent more of what they unloaded last year. |
