THE Fisheries sector welcomed the move of Agriculture secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol to rename the Department of Agriculture (DA) into Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF).
Bfar-Davao regional director Fatma Idris told VoxPop Davao in an interview the move will recognize the fisheries industry for its contribution to domestic and international sphere.
Idris said it is but ironic how the Philippines, as of the present, remained the only country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) that has no Department or Ministry of Fisheries.
“It is high time to give more focus on the fisheries sector, we have one of the longest coastline and water resources covering an estimate of 1.4 million registered fisher men under the national system of fisherfolk registration,” Idris said.
Piñol emphasized, in a Facebook post, the inclusion of the word "fisheries" in DA’s name “will signify the crucial role of the fishermen in ensuring available and affordable food” for the Filipinos.
He added his decision (including fisheries) came after he became tired of explaining to people, both here and internationally, that the Department of Agriculture (DA) does not only cover farming but also fishing.
Piñol then recognized where the confusion is coming from as “agriculture” only means activities related to the land and by not including fisheries in the agency’s name, somehow, implicates fishing is not as equally important as farming.
“I will ask our allies in Congress to initiate the official amendment of the name of DA to DAF,” he said.
President Rodrigo Duterte, during his election campaign period, has promised the sector that a separate department will be established under his leadership.
The plan also gained strong support from the industry players as the Philippines is considered as a maritime nation.
Two global environmental organizations, Greenpeace and Oceana Philippines have expressed support for the plan saying this can address the increasing number of issues relative to fishery production and marine preservation.
In a previous report, Vince Cinches, the Philippine oceans campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said in a report that “majority of the country's fishing grounds have been overfished while the marine ecosystem has severely degraded.”
Cinches added the creation of a department should be “within the context of allowing Philippine seas to recover from decades old of exploitation and should enable the strong implementation of the amended fisheries code against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.”
Greenpeace earlier suggested that the new agency be called: Department of Oceans and Fisheries.
