• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental Third District Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez has called for the passage of a legally supported closed fishing season for blue swimming crabs, saying stronger conservation measures and improved monitoring systems are crucial to restoring the Philippines’ access to the United States export market.
Speaking during a public hearing of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan on July 24 for the proposed Blue Swimming Crab Sustainability and Management Ordinance, Benitez said the decline of the province’s crab industry has directly affected thousands of families, particularly in his district.
“When the crab industry hurts, my constituents hurt,” the lawmaker said.
The US suspended imports of Philippine blue swimming crab products on June 11, after the US National Marine Fisheries Service determined that the Philippines had failed to provide adequate documentation on marine mammal bycatch monitoring and protection programs as required under the US Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Since the export suspension, the farmgate price of blue swimming crabs in Barangay Tomongtong, E.B. Magalona has dropped from PHP 250 to PHP 110 per kilogram, forcing some crab-picking plants to suspend operations.
Negros Occidental’s Third District is considered the center of the province’s blue swimming crab industry. It includes E.B. Magalona, known as the province’s blue crab capital, as well as the crab-producing cities of Silay and Victorias and a processing plant in Talisay City.
Benitez stressed that the export suspension stemmed not from food safety issues but from deficiencies in documentation and monitoring systems.
“The issue is not the safety of our catch. It is a documentary problem that we can fix,” he said.
The proposed ordinance, sponsored by Third District Board Member Hope Marey Depasucat, seeks to establish sustainable management measures for the province’s blue swimming crab industry following the suspension of Philippine exports to the US.
It also seeks to establish reporting and monitoring mechanisms required by US authorities, strengthen protection for berried crabs from sea to market, and institutionalize livelihood assistance for fisherfolk affected by conservation measures.
To further strengthen the proposal, Benitez urged provincial officials and stakeholders to adopt a uniform policy on the minimum legal size for blue swimming crabs.
He recommended that the province decide whether to retain the 11-centimeter minimum size it pioneered in 2003 or adopt the 10.2-centimeter standard currently being considered.
He likewise pushed for stricter enforcement of existing national regulations on prohibited fishing gear and called for financial assistance to help fishers replace illegal gear with compliant equipment.
Benitez also proposed allocating dedicated funding for the ordinance’s trust fund, with clearly identified funding sources and fiscal provisions.
Beyond the provincial initiative, Benitez committed to push the Philippines’ reapplication to the US market in Congress by securing funding and ensuring sustained government action.
He also pledged to review the budget of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources under the Negros Island Region and support amendments to the Philippine Fisheries Code following a court ruling that reopened municipal waters to commercial fishing vessels. | GPB
