The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of Negros Occidental has issued an urgent call for national government intervention following the closure of the United States market to Philippine blue swimming crab products, Board Member Hope Marey Depasucat said Thursday, June 11.
The provincial board in a resolution, authored by Depasucat, expressed “deep concern” over the immediate economic fallout threatening thousands of local fishers, crab pickers, and processing plant workers.
The market closure, enforced by the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service under its Marine Mammal Protection Act, took effect on Thursday, June 11.
The SP resolution said the restriction was not imposed due to concerns relating to product quality, food safety, or sanitary standards. Instead, the U.S. barred the imports because the Philippines failed 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.
In a privilege speech during Tuesday’s SP session, Depasucat sounded the alarm over the country’s predicament.
“What makes this situation even more alarming is that other major crab-exporting countries, including Indonesia, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka, successfully secured comparability findings and retained access to the U.S. market,” Depasucat said.
“The Philippines now stands as the only major blue swimming crab exporting nation whose products have been barred from entering the United States”, she said.
The economic consequences for the Philippines, including Negros Occidental, will be devastating, she said.
The United States accounts for approximately 90 percent of all Philippine blue swimming crab exports. The country historically exports more than 2,400 metric tons of crabmeat annually to the U.S., generating billions of pesos in export earnings, Depasucat said.
Furthermore, the Western Visayan Seas contribute roughly 51 percent of the nation’s blue swimming crab production, making Western Visayas and the province of Negros Occidental the critical epicenter of the industry, she added.
“We are home to approximately 20 crab picking stations, hundreds of landing stations, thousands of crab fishers and crab pickers, and two major processing and export plants,” Depasucat said.
“This extensive supply and value chain forms a vital component of our local economy, particularly in our coastal barangays”, she added.
Local processing facilities have already begun reducing operations and scaling back workforce hours in anticipation of the sharp plunge in export demand, the SP resolution said.
“While environmental protection and marine mammal conservation are important objectives that must be pursued, there is likewise an urgent need to protect the welfare and livelihood of affected fisherfolk, workers, and coastal communities,” it added.
The SP resolution strongly urges the Department of Agriculture (DA) through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to immediately implement the necessary monitoring, data collection, and traceability frameworks required to satisfy U.S. laws and restore market access.
On the provincial level, the resolution directs the Provincial Agriculture Office, the Provincial Environment Management Office, and the Provincial Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council to immediately convene consultations with fisherfolk organizations, processors, and exporters to assess the economic damage and draft local support measures.
Copies of the approved resolution are being forwarded to the offices of the involved Cabinet secretaries, congressional representatives, and municipal and city governments across Negros Occidental for immediate action.
SILENT APPEAL TO THE PRESIDENT
A group of deaf-mute crab meat pickers employed by Saravia Blue Crabs Inc. released a video message using sign language on Thursday, appealing directly to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to intervene and save their jobs.
They said they rely entirely on the honest work of their hands to feed their families and send their children to school with dignity, are calling on the president to find a swift resolution with the United States.*
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