Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said he is very confident that the Philippines will be able to resume exporting its blue swimming crabs to the United States before the end of the year.
He discussed the blue crabs issue with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his visit to Malacañang on Wednesday, said Laurel, who was in Negros Occidental on Friday, July 24.
“They are aware of it and we were given the opportunity to reapply right away” to resume exporting blue crabs to the United States, he said.
The new application will be submitted, at the latest by September, and hopefully by that time it will be approved, he said.
He is very confident because measures have been taken to ensure that endangered dolphins will be protected.
An inter-agency task force has also been created to monitor and record the presence of dolphins, Laurel added.
The Philippines’ sale of blue crabs to the United States was banned starting June 11, due to the country’s alleged failure to demonstrate compliance with marine mammal conservation and fisheries monitoring requirements.
Specifically, the country lacked sufficient documentation demonstrating adequate marine mammal bycatch monitoring programs and mandatory reporting systems for marine mammal injuries or mortalities associated with fishing activities.
The lack of conservation measures to protect marine mammals like dolphins and whales, consistent with U.S. regulatory requirements, was also cited.
Rep. Javier Miguel L. Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said he supports the proposed Negros Occidental Blue Swimming Crab Sustainability and Management Ordinance of 2026 and is committed to push in Congress for the country’s reapplication to the American market.
“When the crab industry hurts, my constituents hurt,” Benitez told the Negros Occidental Sangguniang Panlalawigan during a public hearing at the Provincial Capitol on Friday.
The Third District is the heart of the province’s crab industry, home to E.B. Magalona, the blue crab capital of Negros Occidental, the crab cities of Silay and Victorias, and a processing plant in Talisay, a press statement from the office of Benitez said.
About 90 percent of the country’s blue swimming crab exports go to the US. Since the ban, the farmgate price in Tomongtong, E.B. Magalona, has fallen from ₱250 to ₱110 per kilo, and some picking plants have shut down, it said.
Even before the ban, the catch had dropped from over 4,000 metric tons in 2015 to less than 1,800 last year, the statement added.
Benitez stressed that the US did not question the safety of the local catch. The issue is the lack of a working system to report and monitor the harvest. He called it a documentary problem the province can fix.
The congressman said the draft requires the reporting and monitoring the US asked for, protects berried crabs from sea to market, and puts livelihood support for fishers in the text itself.
To strengthen the measure, Benitez called on the body to speak with one voice on size, asking whether the province will honor the 11-centimeter minimum it pioneered in 2003 or the 10.2-centimeter standard, and to fix how it is measured so that every fisher and every inspector reads the same number.
He also urged a closed season placed on solid legal ground together with the municipalities, and the gear rules now required by national law, paired with real help for fishers who must buy new gear.
Benitez also pushed for real money behind the trust fund, with an amount, a source, and a fiscal note, and a boat-to-market documentation system built carefully so the data gathered will be accepted by the US.
Beyond the ordinance, Benitez committed to pushing in the House for the US reapplication to be filed, funded, and followed through on.
He will also look into the BFAR budget under the new Negros Island Region and support the repair of the Fisheries Code after a court ruling opened municipal waters to commercial boats.
“You will have my full cooperation, in this hall and in Congress,” he said.
The hearing was attended by members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, BFAR officials, and stakeholders from across the industry, including fisherfolk, pickers, buyers, and processors.*
[sibwp_form id=1]