RESOURCES~'<

Smaller size tuna around thePhilippines - can fish aggregatingdevices be blamed?

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jIn recent years, the Philippine tuna production has declined, and fishermen havecomplained about the increased amount of smaller fish. The authors argue that theuse of fish aggregating devices called "payaos" has been at least partiallyresponsible for this.

by J M Floyd and D Pauly

In recent years, several programmeshave been conducted to promote the useof fish aggregating devices (FADs) to at-tract pelagic fish, particularly skipjackand small yellowfin tuna. The tuna in-dustry is rapidly spreading the use of thismethod throughout the world. Accountsof these programmes have been mainlydescriptive and have focused on modesof operation, FAD designs, and tech-nical specifications. In most cases, theyhave not dealt with the potential impactof FADs on marine resources.

In this article, the authors suggestthat, given certain characteristics offisheries, the use of FADs can contributeto the decline of catches because theyremove the built-in safety margin thathas, up until now, prevented growthoverfishing - a reduction of catch dueto early capture of recruits - of mosttuna stocks. The Philippine tuna fisheryis used as an example.

The Philippine tuna fisheryOver the last decade, the commercial

Philippine tuna fishery, employing boatsweighing 3 tons or more, has emerged asthe largest and most valuable fishery inthe country. This occurred because ofthe introduction of the purse-seinemethod in combination with FADs. In1970, tuna production by commercialfishing vessels was 9 054 tons, about 1%of the total marine catch of 892 000 tons.Exports of fresh and frozen tuna in 1970were 820 tons, worth P 2.5 million (ap-proximately US$ 0.44 million). By 1980,commercial tuna production was 87 250tons and represented 7.7% of the totalmarine catch. The increased productionhas led to increased exports of fresh andfrozen tuna, valued at P 430 million in1980 (approximately US$ 57 million).Canned tuna exports have also been sub-stantial, totalling over US$ 27 million in1980.

The transformation of the commercialfishing industry to an industrial-scale in-

INFOFISH MARKETINGDIGEST NO 5/84

dustry has its roots in the late 1960s. Atthat time, a handful of exporters wasengaged in buying tuna caught in thePalawan area and Sulu Sea. The fisher-men were paid P 0.25/kg (approximatelyUS$ O.07jkg). By 1975, exports amountedto P 37 million, with most fish beingpurchased from small-scale fishermenusing small wooden fishing craft knownas bancas. The growth of the tunafishery was further fuelled with increasedproduction by small purse-seine andringnet operators fishing at night andusing drifting bamboo rafts for attractin,glive-bait. Fishing surveys, conducted bythe Food and Agricultural Orgarlizationof the United Nations' South China SeaFisheries Development and Co-ordinating Programme (SCSP) in late1974, aboard the chartered vesselsSouthward Ho and Royal Venture, con-firmed that there were substantial tunaresources and that bamboo rafts couldbe modified and used for commercialoperations in Philippine waters. TheSCSP survey team estimated thepotential catch of seiners, such as theSouthward Ho or Royal Venture(420 GT, 1125 HP and 283 GT, 850 HP,respectively) fishing commercially inPhilippine waters for 25 days per month,10 months a year, would be at least1 500 tons.

Two Philippine private companiesspear-headed tuna purse-seining withFADs shortly afterwards. By 1977, tunaexports were valued at P 85 million,double the 1975 figure. These companieswere soon joined by others who res-ponded to the Presidential DecreeNo. 704, "to keep the fishery resources ofthe country in optimum productive con-dition and (to achieve) the maximumutilisation of its fishery resources". At thesame time, a Government agency, theFishery Industry Development Council(FlDC) sought to create a favourableinvestment climate for joint ventures inthe fishing sector "in order to increase

foreign exchange earnings, employmentand technology transfer". The proclama-tion of a 200-mile EEZ by the PhilippineGovernment in June 1978 further in-tensified interest in the tuna fishery.

In 1981, over 30 Philippine companieswere exporting fresh and frozen tuna,operating 79 large purse-seiners and 56long-liners. Six of these companies wereofficially reccignised joint ventures' withlocal" fishing operators, but there werealso a dozen more joint-venture enter-prises with approved applications not yetin operation and several others withpending applica~ions. These numbers donot include operators fishing without li-cences and illegal foreign fishermen whowere catching tuna at an estimated rateof 50 000 to 100 000 tons each year.

Declining export productionThe number of tuna processing compa-

nies has grown- as rapidly as the numberof companies engaged in fishing opera-tions. In 1980, there were nine majoroperators, and nine other relativelyminor operators who exported 607 tonsof dried tuna (katsuobushi), valued atP 19 million, to the Japanese market. In1980, there were also 27 fish canneries,10 of which canned tuna for export.However, tuna export production dec-lined from 41 000 tons in 1980 to 36000tons in 1981. This trend has continuedinto 1982, forcing some companies toclose down and many others to slowdown operations.

Although tuna catches declined sub-stantially in 1978 from its highest level in1977, declining export production inrecent years has been viewed with moreconcern. Some experts. have attributedthis decline to natural fluctuations and tothe revised system of catch sampling im-plemented at that time. More recently,however (1982), declining profitability oftuna operations, resulting from high fuelcosts and poor international market con-ditions, has been cited. This has occur-

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red at a time when high expectations andoptimistic forecasts by both governmentand fishery industry leaders promptedmany producers to expand their fleets.The over-capacity which has resulted isevidenced by the large numbers of tunavessels for sale or lying idle in variousports throughout ,the country, by the in-creasing number of licensing arrange-ments by Filipino operators with neigh-bouring countries, 'and by the recent im-portation of tuna for processing and re-export.

Major features ofPhilippine payaos

Three types of payaos (approximatelythe same size) are used in the Philip-pines: inshore payaos, deep-sea payaosand steel payaos.

In ~981, about 2000 payaos weredeployed in several fishing areas aroundthe country. Because of the cost ofsetting payaos and their potential to in-duce schooling, complicated sharing andrental systemshave evolved around theirownerlhl",Rll1t!)1f8es to fllh At11Illter"amp,,"y'. Of JPfnr,vonHIrIl p-"rtnppl.payaos may be as high as US$ 200 000 ayear. Commission fees are 10% of thenet income for the fish cauglrt atanother's payao during a particular ope-ration.

Commercial fishing around payaos ismonitored by small-scalefishermen who,in return, are permitted to handlinearound the payao. These fishermenwatch for poachers and make free divesat the payao to monitor the amount ofschooling.

Introduction of voluntary limitsby theFishing Federation and the Philippine

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Tuna Producers and Exporters Asso-ciation, and despite determined policy,poaching and vandalism continue to be aproblem.

Catch composition of thePhilippine tuna fish~ry

Available sta.tisticson fish production inthe Philippines are generally regarded asunreliable and inadequate for stock as-sessment, management, and conserva-tion purposes. This is especially true ofthe commercial tuna fishery because ofthe highly competitive nature of the in-dustry, the prevailing system of catchdeclarations, the numerous unloadingsites, apd the Government's difficulty inmonito'ring activities. The absence. ofdata on catch per unit of effort and onthe size composition of the catch have

MT4000

Nominal catch of pelagic flah.General Santos City,Cotabato Province

2000

ilia3000

21100

1 500

1 000

500

100

1975 76 77 78 79 80- 81

Distribution of the approximately 2000payaos used for tuna fishing In the Philippines

also prevented an accurate assessment ofthe level of tuna exploitation and fisherypotential.

One major development is the increas-ing catch of juvenile fish landed by thecommercial ringnet and purse-seinefishery. In General Santos City. forexample, about 100 tons of small skip-jack. weighing 70-100 g each, wereunloaded daily in the 1981 season. Dueto their small size, a substantial portionof these fish were misidentified andreported as roundscads (Decapterusspp.) or as frigate mackerels (Allxisspp.). This may account for the increasein nominal catch of roundscads andfrigate mackerel since 1975. The largedecrease in tuna production, may be theresult of reduced recruitment to themature stock, as well as the result ofreduced catches by the local handlinefishery, and probably increased catchesby large-scale operators who do not landtheir fish locally:

A vailable catch reports from commer-cial export operators also indicate that

1I'l!pl~~~~rM''crJr/hIWJ1ttll!~y~tll"\ WJII~\\~or small tunas. Data from four exportoperators, show that almost two-thirdsof their production consisted of under-sized tuna. They are under-sized from abiological viewpoint and also from aneconomic viewpoint since small tuna donot have the same commercial value aslarge tuna as they are not suitable forexport and processing. The problem,however, is worse than stated. It isclaimed that more than 95% of all skip-jack landed in the Philippines are lessthan 30 cm in length, and fish are rou-tinely landed at a length of 14 cm.

INFOFISH MARKETINGDIGEST NO 5/84

Annual tuna production and export

Tuna production' (MT) Tuna exports

Totalb Munlclpsl Commercial Quantity Value(MT) (million

pesos)

1970 9054 820 2.5191971 8246 2770 8.719

-1972 9239 5161 17.7371973 22 600 8545 30.1201974 25 339 11376 51.8601975 21 559 8120 36.6161976 124.984 92124 32 860 5735 26.8121977 215900 155514 60 386 15619 85.3671978 183 999 133299 50700 19771 114.8271979 197311 119017 78 204 33 775 222.7231980 200 805 113555 87 250 41 463 430.3191981 203 754 97991 105763 35 850 345.515

"Includesyellowfin,skipjack.Eastern littletuna and frigatetuna.bpriorto 1976.tuna productionwas onlyreported forcommercialvessels.

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Indeed skipjack between 10 to 12 cm aresometimes found in the catches of theringnets and smaller purse-seine vessels.The problem is further aggravated by thefact that large numbers of small tuna arenot landed but are used as bait for long-lines at the payaos.

New marketsAs the catch of small tunas has increas-

ed, commercial export activities, newmarkets and new processing industrieshave also arisen. The incidental catch ofsmall tunas was initially considered anuisance by the commercial fishery be-cause of the absence of market outlets.But recent interest in drying small tunafor katsuobushi for the Japanese marketand canning small cooked tuna for thelocal market has changed this situation.Traditionally, small tuna were not po-pular as a food fish, but the increased

supply has prompted processing of smalltuna into fish paste, which in turn hasresulted in increased local consumption,particularly in central Mindanao wherethe people are poor and where there arefew alternatives.

The expansion of local markets forsmall tuna and the deteriorating inter-national market for large tuna have result-ed in relatively uniform prices paid toproducers for tuna. The table below illu-strates that there is not a premium price forlarger fish and that small immature fishoften bring the same price as larger fish.What fluctuation there is in price seemsto be a function of the province's orlocality's capacity to utilise the fish, thedistance from transshipment centres, andthe presence or absence of commercialbuyers. For example, prices are general-ly low in Cagayan and Southern Negrosbecause there are few buyers. Large

INFOFISH MARKETINGDIGEST NO 5/84

tuna caught by commercial operators inthe Sulu Sea are generally landed inManila. Prices are higher in Zamboangaand Santos because these are the closesturban centres to the major tuna fishinggrounds in the Mindanao Sea, and theyalso have commercial export facilities.

Migration patternsReliable data on the patterns of migra-

tions of Philippine tuna are lacking.BasetJ on a vast amount of catch andlength-frequency data collected in 1980-1982 at various locations throughout thesouthern Philippines, however, it hasbeen suggested that skipjack and yellow-fin both spawn in the southern Philip-pines, particularly in the Moro Gulf, andaggregate around the payaos. Some fishmigrate from Philippine waters, possiblyto be recruited to the Indonesian andPapua New Guinea tuna fisheries, andsome subsequently return again to thePhilippines to be exploited by the payaoand long-line fisheries. In the light ofthese migration patterns, a full assess-ment of the Philippine tuna fisherywould have to be part of a larger studythat would include catch data from anumber of countries in the region.

Preliminary assessmentof the situation

While the problems experienced bythe Philippine tuna fishery are believedto be not solely due to the catching ofunder-sized fish, "growth 'I over-fishing seems to explain, at least, part ofthe problem.

Without getting into a technical re-source management discussion, it ispossible to say that payaos haveapparently contributed to growth over-fishing in the Philippines because theyrender small tunas accessible to fisherieswhich Were previously not accessible tothem. A ban on catching or landing tunabelow a certain size, or on regulating theuse and placement of payaos could helpprevent growth overfishing in areaswhere very small tuna are available to apayao fishery. Viewed in the light of thePhilippine experience, and given thegeneral lack of knowledge on the migra-tion, stock definition, and vital para-meters of tropical tunas, the introductionof FADs in other countries at this timeshould be taken only with great caution.

Mr Jesse M Floyd is a Professional Associateat the Environment and Policy Institute, East-West Centre. Hawaii.Dr Daniel Pauly is an Associate Scientist atthe International Centre for Living AquaticResources Management, Philippines.

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Tuna catch and effort by selected commercial operators, 1981 (in MT)

No.ofNo. of No. of fllhlng Fllhlng SkipJack. Yellowflnd

Operatora boats trips daYI area <41b ;o41b <7.5Ib ;o7.51b(ell boat I)

A 5 9 147 MoroGulf. 544 276 178 153Palawan

B 3 10 607 Moro Gulf and (2604)' 819 (1302)' 106MindanaoSea;Palawan; Mindoroarea

C 5 15 529 Mindoro and 5279 3559 556 423MoroGulf

D 4b 12 182 MainlySuluSea - - - 67

'Assumes that the tolal figure 013907 tons of under.slzed skipjack and yellowfin consisted of 2/3 skipjack.

"Longllners.

.Sklplack weighing four pounds are approximately 45 cm long. approximately the length at first maturity.

dyellowfin weighing seven and a half pounds are approximately 55 cm long. slightly below length at firstmaturity.

Tuna prices in the Southern Philippines, 19818(pesos per kg)

Locality Buvers' ftrlceto small-IcaleDroducerl Retailmarketprlceland/or IklpJacktuna" yellowfln tuna IklpJack yellowfln

Province Sizes <31b 3-41b >41b 7.5- 8.0Ib. >8.0Ib all sizes all Ilzel

Puerto Prlncesa. - 3.50 3.50 6-7 6-7 - -Palawan in season, in season,

6.50 5.50out season out season.

Zamboanga. - - 5.50 5.50 6.80 6. 6 (Ionglined)Zamboangadel 4.5-5Sur (dynamite)

Santos. 5.6 5.6 5.30 8.40-8.70 8.40 - 8Cotabato (wholesale. (wholesale.

by box) by box)

Davao,Cotabato - - 5.00 - - 9.50 12-15

Cagayan - - - - - 10 15-25

SouthernNegros 3.5-4.0 3.5-4.0 3.50 5. In seaason 5.50 - 7.54. out season

Note; The following lengths correspond to the weight given; skipjack; 3.OIb = 40cm, 4.01b = 45cm; yellowfin:7.51b = 55cm, 8.01b = 12Ocm.'Lata season prices; 1981 was considered a bad year. One peso was equal 10 US $0.125 In Sept. 1981.

bSmail sizes may Include small yellowfin. <Generally tending toward lower limils.