THREE Asian countries—Japan, South Korea and Taiwan—have expressed support to the bid of the Philippines to reopen a portion of the Pacific Ocean for tuna fishing, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said. 

BFAR Director Asis Perez said the three countries backed the Philippines’s suggestion before the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) to reopen an area in the Pacific for tuna fishing. 

Perez said Japan, South Korea and Taiwan supports the assertion of the Philippines that the closure of the high seas since January 1, 2010, have not led to the increase in the population of bluefin tuna. 

The reopening of the Pacific seas to tuna fishing, officials noted, would be advantageous to the three countries where demand for the fish is high. 

Last month the Philippines created a team that will negotiate for the reopening of high sea pockets in the Pacific WCPFC in Palau in December.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said in a statement he approved the creation of the team which will be responsible for the country’s strategic positioning, bargaining and negotiations at the WCPFC meet.

The 8th WCPFC Regular Session is scheduled to be held from December 5 to 9 this year at Ngarachamayong Cultural Center, Medalii in Koror, Palau.

One of the major agenda of the meet is the discussion of the stock status of key tuna species and the evaluation of Conservation and Management Measure (CMM) 2008-01.

Under this CMM, the WCPFC implemented the closure of high sea pockets in the Pacific Ocean to address the overfishing of various types of tuna like big-eye, yellowfin, skipjack and South Pacific albacore. The closure has adversely affected Philippine tuna production.

The country’s tuna industry is presently facing hard times as an effect of a ban on fishing in the high seas imposed by the WCPFC since January 1, 2010.

Last year the local tuna industry’s volume of production dipped by 9 percent from 2008 levels, the period before the closure of the high seas was implemented.  

The Socsksargen (South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, General Santos City) Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries Inc. revealed that commercial fisheries, which account for 70 percent of the total volume at 271,625 metric tons, also posted a 13.84-percent drop in output.