CLARK FREEPORT – Plans to import more “galunggong” amid fears of shortage in the aftermath of Typhoon Ompong is misplaced, a fishers’ group said yesterday.
The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said that contrary to the apparent belief of Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) director Eduardo Gongona, galunggong is harvested from the open seas, not in fish farms and cages.
Gongona earlier aired importation plans after noting that Ompong had destroyed fish farms and cages especially in Laguna, Batangas, Iloilo, and parts of Mindanao.
“We want to inform Gongona that fish remains out there in the sea. It’s just that the fishers were unable to conduct fishing operations at the height of Typhoon Ompong and that was only for a week. Now that the coast is clear and we are able to get back to production, there is no need to import,” Fernando Hicap, Pamalakaya chairperson, said in a statement.
Earlier, BFAR already allowed the importation of 17,000 metric tons of galunggong which started to arrive last Sept. 1.
Pamalakaya also questioned government plans to import fish for Iloilo despite a declaration from BFAR regional office there that there was no need to import galunggong in Western Visayas because supply was sufficient.
“It seems like Gongona is not only detached from reality, but he is also not informed by his regional directors on the actual situation of fisheries in the countrysides. We are worried about Gongona’s apparent addiction to imported galunggong,” Hicap said.
He noted that “every time there is speculation of fish shortage, his immediate and default solution is to import and import, instead of adopting measures to address this alleged shortage and strengthen the municipal fisheries especially in times of natural calamities.”
“How many times would we tell him that importation will not help the local fisheries industry but rather, it will kill the livelihood of small fisherfolk by further downgrading the farm gate price of galunggong and other fish products on small fishers,” added Hicap.
