Mindanaotoday.com | NorMin has enough sardines: BFAR-10 chief
By: Jigger Jerusalem
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Northern Mindanao has a sufficient supply of “tamban” (sardine) as the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-10 (BFAR-10) has assured the public that there is no shortage of this common man’s fish in the local market.
“Sufficiency level for sardines is still 222.28 percent for the first quarter of 2022, and 409.06 percent for the second quarter,” said Teodoro Bacolod Jr., BFAR-10 regional director, during a press briefing Monday, Sept. 12.
He said that for this year, BFAR forecasted an annual production of 293,431 metric tons covering the national demand of 101,367 metric tons.
“Based on our national assessment stock program under the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, nakita nga ang sardine stock has significantly improved resulting in more sardines reaching maturity and appropriate catchable size,” Bacolod said.
Bacolod has noted that the sardine catch in the region has seen an increase during a five-year period.
Data provided by the BFAR-10 showed that in 2017, the total sardine catch was 794,373.74 weight in kilograms (WinKg).
In 2018, it was 755,000.08 WinKg, while in 2019, it went slight lower with 743, 389.60 WinKg.
At the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, total catch was at 2,010,386.01 WinKg, and 869,956.47 WinKg in 2021.
The total catch for that period was 5,173,105.89 WinKg.
For this year, so far, the commercial and commercial fishers in Northern Mindanao were able to catch 328,473.93 WinKg of sardines.
Sardines that are abundant in region 10 include sardinella lemuru, sardinella gibbosa, sardinella pacifica, dussumieria elopsoides, sardinella albella, sardinella sp., and dussumieria acuta.
The uptrend in catch, Bacolod said, could be attributed to the “effective implementation of the national sardine management plan, a five-year plan which harmonizes all the policies and programs of sardines including conservation measures such as the closed fishing season. This is what’s been implemented in the Zamboanga Peninsula.”
Since the implementation of the seasonal fishing ban, starting in 2020, notable improvement in production supply was recorded, he added.
It went down again in 2021 due to climate factors especially weather disturbance such as typhoons, as well as man-made interventions made by fisherfolk that are beyond the control of the government.
Bacolod said the call of the Canned Sardines Association of the Philippines to open municipal waters to commercial fishing vessels to address the alleged shortage of sardines runs counter to the existing sardine supply sufficiency data.
“The BFAR remains strongly committed to increase in production and ensuring fish sufficiency through sustainable means and without compromising the ecological integrity of our aquatic and marine environment,” Bacolod added.
The BFAR-10 official has also confirmed that as for the region, the bureau has not received any reports on the shortage of sardines.
“Our scientists from the National Stock Assessment Program (NSAP) here in region 10 are in fact currently working on a study to further increase the production of the Fisheries Management Area 9 top 30 fish species that includes the ‘tamban,’” Bacolod said. (JJJ | MT)
###