THE CANNED TUNA INDUSTRY

IN THE PHILIPPINES
A Presentation by
Tuna Canners Association of the Philippines (TCAP)
VII World Tuna Conference
TUNA VIGO 2015

A brief introduction
The Philippines is structured to be a fishing
nation;
Our 7,100 islands altogether measure 2,000
kms. long and is 150 kilometers from the
southern tip of Taiwan;
Our water area is 2.2 million square
kilometers
Land area is more than 30 Million hectares,
including mountain peaks, volcanoes, etc.

Dominant Tuna Species in the

Philippines

yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares),

bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus),
skipjack tuna (Katsuwanos pelamis),
eastern little tuna (Euthynnus affinis),
frigate tuna (Auxis thazard), and
bullet tuna (Auxis rochei)

Gears Used to Catch Tuna

Purse seines, ringnets and handlines
usually account for 75% of annual catch.

Purse seines
Ringnet
Handline
Hook-and-line
Other gears

48%
26
10
14
2

Common Gears Used

Purse Seine and ringnet

FISH AGGREGATING DEVICE (FADS)

OR PAYAO

DEEP SEA PAYAO (FAD)

How did tuna fishing develop?

Started in 1900s under American rule

1942-44 tuna fishing became commercial
1950 americans started commercial trade
1960s refrigerated ships started landings in
zamboanga
1973 Tuna Exporters Association was formed
1980s the Japanese went into bigtime
buying of sashimi grade tuna

How are we doing now?

The Philippines is still one of the top fish
producing countries in the world.
Over 1.6 million Filipinos involved
Contribution to Phil GDP in 2013 -1.7% and
1.9% at current and constant prices, respectively
2013 export volume -165,757 MT for all Tunas,
valued at US $681.618 million.
Canned tuna constitutes bulk of tuna products
being exported. Tuna, mackerel and sardines
are major import fish commodities in 2013
30% of imports accounted for by tuna.

Where do we get our tuna raw materials?

Sources of tuna:
Papua New Guinea 8 %
Taiwan (ROC) 10.2%
Japan 2.5%
Marshall Islands, 0.5%
Korea Rep, 1.7%.
Other fishery imports include mackerel, 14.7%
Sardines, 5.3%.

Philippine Registered Vessels in WCPFC

Type of Vessel
Bunker
Fish Carrier
Fishing Vessel
Handline
Longline
Mothership
Multi-purpose vessel
Purse seine
Support Vessel
Total

Number of Registered Vessels

Total
<250 GT >250 - 500GT >500 - 1,000GT > 1,000 GT
1
1
167
52
14
17
250
4
2
1
7
1
1
3
9
8
20
8
8
7
1
8
79
25
27
20
151
362
3
3
368
631
89
55
39
814

Regional Fish Management Organizations

(RFMO)

The Philippines implements its obligations under

the respective regional conventions and
conservation and management measures (CMMs)
adopted by the following RFMO organizations:
WCPFC

Western and Central Pacific Fisheries

Commission

IOTC
ICCAT

The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission

CCSBT

Commission for the Conservation of Southern

Bluefin Tuna (the Philippines is a non-member

International Commission for the

Conservation of Atlantic Tunas

cooperator)

Philippine Vessels Out There

Table 1. Classification and Number of Philippine registered vessels

Type of vessel
Bunker
Fish Carrier
Unspecified Vessel
Handline
Longline
Multi-purpose
Purse Seine
Support Vessel

<250GT

>250GT

111
8
1
7
6
64
254

>500GT

51
2

8
1
36
4

WCPFC
Total

1
26
1

1
188
11

9
1
27
4

1
24
8
127
262
IOTC

Longline
Purse Seine

14

9
15

15
17

24
46
ICCAT

Longline

16

25

Total Tuna Catch by Species (2010-2014)

Commercial
Year

Municipal

Yellowfi
Skipjack
Bigeye Skipjack Yellowfin Bigeye
n

TOTAL

2010

177,698

85,351

8,575

50,481

61,924

3,070

387,099

2011

147,979

68,625

6,022

49,404

54,389

3,591

330,010

2012

163,026

77,730

7,912

41,327

45,698

4,568

340,262

2013

168,183

83,142

6,899

40,963

46,742

4,962

350,891

2014

194,583

94,256

6,188

39,270

45,664

4,980

384,942

TUNA CANNERIES
There are seven (7) members of the Tuna Canners
Association of the Philippines,.
6 operate in General Santos :
- Alliance Select Foods
- Celebes Canning Corpation,
- GenTuna Corporation
- Ocean Canning Corporation
- Philbest Caning Corporation
- SeatradeCanning Corporation
in Zamboanga - Permex Export Producer Corporation)
and another one in Zamboanga, Bigfish Food Corporation,
not yet registered as a member of TCAP.
There are two (2) Philippine-owned and operated
canneries in Papua New Guinea, one in Madang and
another one in Lae processing around 50,000MT per
year.

TCAP members Export Data

(in 000 )

No. of
Cases

2014

EXPORT
VALUE
US
(EST)
$

2013

2012

2011

7,357.9 6,326.8

6,563.6

7,872.6

2010

10,197.0

257,696.2 250,778.5 254,843.2 255,713.9 226,029.3

TUNA EXPORTS BY COMMODITY (2010-2014)

Tuna commodity, by
volume (MT)

2010

2011

2012

2013

33,688

22,027

22,910

20,177

13,933

8,000

2,725

58,071

38,796

29,660

2014*

Fresh/chilled/frozen

Dried/smoked
Canned

76,801

28,808

1,460
58,660

TOTAL VALUE
(million USD)

359.38 314.507 455.10 664.50 459.83

Domestic Consumption
Canned SARDINES

5 National Brands
All others
Total

690 tons /month

200 tons
890 tons/month or
10,680,000 cases p.a.

Canned TUNA
Kilos
Cases
Value

2013

2014

52.6 M
6 Million
Php 8.6 B

50.5 M
5.8 Million
Php 8.6 B

(est) 2015
up 2%

0%

Fisheries Management & Policy

AGENCY
DA-BFAR
DENR
DTI
DFA
MARINA
PFDA,PPA
NFRDI, BAS
LGUs

FUNCTIONS RELATED TO TUNA FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

manage, conserve, develop, protect, utilize, and dispose of all
fisheries
and aquatic resources beyond municipal waters
protection of fish habitat
regulation of fish trade
fisheries negotiations
registration of fishing vessels
management of fish ports
research and policy support agencies
manage, conserve, develop, protect, and utilize all fish and

fishery resources within their respective municipal waters

Phil Coast Guard, Navy,

Nationa Police maritime Group } enforce fishery laws

Airforce
}

NAFC, FARMCs, PCAMRD

NCIE, MSCOCs, Sea Watch, ] coordinating bodies that facilitate fishery management measures
NTIC

TUNA MANAGEMENT PLAN

A. Use and management of FADs to

regulate the deployment and number
of FADs associated with tuna fishing
B. Monitoring, Control, Surveillance
(MCS) activities;
Land component
Sea component
Air component

Guidelines and Required Compliance of the

TUNA MANAGEMENT PLAN
Determination of Catch Limit based on Best
Scientific Evidence
Limitation of Fishing Effort and Capacity
Regulation of Transshipment at Sea
Regional Observer Program
Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)
Entry and Exit Position Reporting
Boarding and Inspection on the High Seas
Port State Measures
Charter Vessels
Catch and Trade Documentation
IUU Vessel Listing

GSP PLUS
Fish supply is still a problem now and for the next
three (3) years.
The Philippines is registered as one of the biggest
purseining fleet and is treated in the tuna industry as
equal to the first world country catchers/processors.
But we really cannot compete with their capacities.
We continue to depend upon guidance and aid by
the EU countries to whom we owe our phenomenal
growth.
In truth, our capabilities have been taught to us by
our EU trading partners/friends
Our markets have been essentially the EU and the
USA, and we continue to receive help from the EU, in
particular, in terms of market, technology, financial
support if any.

ISSUES, CONCERNS & CHALLENGES

Resource Management
Production, Post Harvest and marketing
Institutional Policy and Regulatory Concerns

 THANK YOU!
MUCHAS GRACIAS!

MABUHAY!