International environmental organization Oceana commends Northern Samar Governor Edwin Ongchuan for the determination to adopt the science-based approach to managing the fisheries of the province and for his positive response to address the critical issue of post-harvest fish losses, the dire state of the locals’ nutrition and pervasive poverty in the province as articulated in the Oceana study covering Samar and Northern Samar.
The findings of Oceana’s study showing market losses that are as high as 38.39 percent of the province’s total catch from harvesting to marketing stages was presented by Oceana’s Campaign and Research Director, Lawyer Rhea Yray-Frossard during the Provincial Development Council meeting recently.
The comprehensive and pioneering study focused on the towns of Allen, Victoria, San Isidro, as well as Capul, San Antonio, and San Vicente – all part of the San Bernardino Local Government Unit Alliance of Northern Samar (SaBeLANS).
Among the key observations, San Vicente reported the highest physical losses during the fishing stage, especially during the glut season for tuna and sardines.
Because of a lack of cold storage and processing facilities, 85 percent of the quality of fish is lost. Allen also experienced predominant quality losses due to reduced freshness, physical damage, and substandard sizes of export species.
“In Victoria, the situation is even worse. The local fishers catch is undervalued by up to 75 percent during peak seasons due to market pressures. This loss means less money for families who largely rely on these fish to feed their children and support their households and loss of food for the communities as municipal catch is largely for domestic consumption,” Yray-Frossard explained.
Oceana worked with the Center for Sustainable Aquaculture and Agri-based Innovations (CENSAAI) led by Dr. Ronelie Salvador, fisheries expert in producing the report that was done in 2023. During the meeting, Salvador shared the following recommendations to curb post-harvest fish losses: quantify losses at each stage in the distribution chain; improve and institutionalize reporting and monitoring systems; improvide livelihood support to mobile vendors and women, train them on postharvest handling and preservation; through local government units, set limitations on the fish catch volume of species reported to have high losses during peak seasons to reduce waste; and establish postharvest facilities such as cold storage facilities for the processing and preservation of catch with participation by stakeholders
Oceana has been working with Fisheries Management Area (FMA) 7 that covers the San Bernardino Strait of Northern Samar to address these critical issues through the Fisheries Management 7 Plan to promote sustainable fisheries and reduce postharvest losses.(PR)
