Special ReportsIn the case of shared stocks, over-fishing in one area may lead to remarkable resources reduction in the whole area. The small pelagic stock in the South China Sea is strongly believed to be shared among countries bordering this ecosystem. Therefore, under the Japanese Trust Fund II program, collaborative efforts among SEAFDEC participating countries was considered crucial to ascertain this belief and to ensure efficient management of the stock. The second phase of the “Tagging Program for Economically Important Pelagic Species in South China Sea and Andaman Sea” (2007-2011) focused on tagging experiments to confirm the existence of subpopulation of the selected four pelagic fish species, namely: the Indian Mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta), Indo-Pacific Mackerel (R. brachysoma), Japanese scad (Decapterus maruadsi) and shortfin scad (D. macrosoma). Outcomes from this program could be used as scientific evidence to support the management of small pelagic fishery in the Southeast Asian region.
Regional Cooperation
SEAFDEC Secretariat, MFRDMD, TD and MFRD were involved in the program implementation from 2002 to 2006. Seven countries bordering the South China Sea, i.e. Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam participated in the program.
Twenty-six sampling sites were identified in these countries for biological studies on the major small pelagic species groups such as mackerels and round scads.
This Tagging Program is a sequel to the project on “Information Collection for Sustainable Pelagic Fisheries in the South China Sea”, which was part of the first phase of the Japanese Trust Fund (JTF) II program formulated as part of the follow-up action after the 2001 “ASEAN-SEAFDEC Conference on Sustainable Fisheries for Food Security in the New Millennium”. The project’s goal was to acquire information that would clarify the actual status of operation and catches of purse seine fishery targeting pelagic fishes and the biological characteristics of the pelagic fish resources. The project also examined the existence of under-exploited pelagic resources to maximize the utilization of catches.
Mr. Jose Basamot is not new to hard work. To sustain his family, he has been farming a plot of land in Dumarao, a land-locked municipality on Panay island in west central Philippines, when he has to halt operations after the reservoir of a small dam permanently flooded his farm. This placed him, and 35 other rice farmers in his neighborhood, in a quandary: what to do with the water on the land?
SEAFDEC/AQD - Local government units aiming to reduce poverty by tapping aquaculture can now turn to SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department (AQD) for much-needed assistance.
