The Department of Agriculture and the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center are aiming for a number coding or “tagging” of up to 2,400 pieces of small pelagic fishes like galunggong, hasa-hasa and tunsoy in Palawan and Manila Bay under a joint research program leading to the formulation of a sustainable management plan, the DA said in a press release.

The plan is seen to help conserve 50 percent of the country's total marine fish catch.

BFAR Director Malcolm Sarmiento said the “tagging” involves the insertion of special number-coded yellow tags at the base of the dorsal fins of individual fishes.

The fishes are then released back into the sea and their tags will hopefully be returned to the nearest fishery agency by the fishermen who catch them, Sarmiento said.

He said the “tagging” scheme will enable marine researchers to determine the migratory path of the species of small pelagic fishes, which would eventually lead to the development of a regional management plan to ensure the sustainability of such fishery resources, the press release said.

Small pelagic fishery represents an important resource in many regions of the world. In the Philippines , small pelagic fishes such as galunggong, tunsoy, tawiles, hasa-hasa, matangbaka and the likes constitute about 50 percent of the total marine fish catch.

Sarmiento said studies have shown that small pelagic fishery in Southeast Asian countries bordering the South China Sea, including the Philippines, have been subjected to high levels of exploitation.”

Thus, the need to come up with a management plan for small pelagics, he said in the press release.

Last December, SEAFDEC and the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute of the BFAR jointly conducted a training workshop on the tagging of small pelagic fishes on board the M/V DA-BFAR and at the National Marine Fisheries Development Center in Navotas City.*

back to top