The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources are leading the re-appeal for the United States to reopen its market for the Philippines’ blue swimming crabs, BFAR Negros Island Region OIC Director Rene Parreño said on Monday, Sept. 14.
They are waiting for local government unit ordinances on bycatch monitoring to be attached to the appeal this September, he said.
Bycatch refers to the incidental capture, injury, or death of marine wildlife during fishing.
Parreño said Negros Occidental, Iloilo, and Palawan have already submitted their ordinances, and they are waiting for one from Bicol.
On June 11, the United States stopped accepting blue swimming crabs from the Philippines due to the country’s failure to comply with American marine mammal protection and bycatch monitoring standards, which has greatly affected the local blue crab industry.
The US is the largest export market for the country’s blue crabs.*
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