ANGELES CITY- The sale of imported scad fish or galunggong and other fishes in local markets would be illegal, the fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya (Pamalakaya) warned yesterday.
The group cited Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) No. 195 signed by then Agriculture Sec. Edgardo Angara in 1991 which allowed importation of fishery and other aquatic products, but only for canning and processing purposes, not direct market sale.
Pamalakaya said that the new administrative order issued by Agriculture Sec. Manny Pinol violated the previous order.
“Pinol’s order allows 17,000 metric tons of imported galunggong to enter the country starting Sept. 1 for direct market sale,” the group said in a statement.
The group said Pinol’s move was not only illegal but also “disadvantageous to small fisherfolk and also poses hazard to consumers” because the imports are most likely preserved with the use of toxic formalin.
Pamalakaya chairperson Fernando Hicap said “there is no legal basis for the sale of imported galunggong in local markets because FAO 195 states that institutional buyers, defined as entities or corporations are only allowed to import fish for final consumption or processing as food requirements for accredited hotels and restaurants, not for distribution to the wet markets.”
“How can Sec. Pinol amend the original administrative order without direct consultation with stakeholders such as fisherfolk organizations and local fish traders?” he asked.
Hicap vowed “not to allow the distribution of imported fish in local markets for the health and safety of millions of consumers who depend on fish as source of protein.”
Pamalakaya again quoted marine experts from AGHAM Advocates of Science and Technology as saying that “it is impossible for round scad (galunggong) to surpass months of frozen storage without introducing them to chemicals to extend shelf life.”
“It has been long proven that any imported agricultural products including fish contain formaldehyde that is not safe for human consumption. We challenge both the DA and BFAR to conduct physical lab testing on the first batch of round scad that arrived in the country last September 1. This is a standard operating procedure that fishery and aquatic products must be subject to lab testing at the time of landing as stated in the Section 11 of the FAO 195,” Hicap also said.
