Panukat Isda, the fish ruler, was launched again for the second time at the opening of the 45th Fish Conservation Week Celebration of the Philippine’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) last 20 October 2008. The launch was led by Secretary Arthur Yap of the Department of Agriculture and BFAR Director Malcolm Sarmiento, Jr., who helped distribute 100 fish rulers to key players of the country’s fisheries sector.
Panukat Isda, developed under the INCOFISH project, WP7 on Indicators for Sustainable Fisheries, is a user-friendly tool for improved fisheries management. The fish ruler shows fish length at first maturity, which ideally should be the minimum length that the fish should be harvested. Fish caught shorter than this length have not yet spawned and therefore have not been given a chance to reproduce to ensure the continuity of fish stocks. The fish ruler tool emphasizes the importance of allowing fish to grow to adulthood and have babies before they are caught and consumed by humans. Research has shown that the fish size is very important in fisheries management. According to INCOFISH Project Coordinator Dr. Rainer Froese, if every fish can spawn at least once before being caught, overfishing is theoretically impossible.
At the launch, BFAR Director Sarmiento emphasized the need for a comprehensive nationwide information, education and communication (IEC) and implementation of the Panukat Isda to intensify government’s effort to conserve and protect the fishery resources of the country. Representatives from PAMPANO, led by its president, Rogelio Amatorio, Jr.; and those from the commercial fisheries sector, including the Philippine Alliance of Fishing Federations, Inc. represented by its president, Alon Tan; and General Manager Petronila Buendia of the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority, representing the Fish Landing sector, pledged their support to the Bureau in informing and educating their constituents and clientele on the use of Panukat Isda.
Highlighting the launch was the signing of commitment by these representatives to help BFAR in its pledge to serve as a role model in the use of the Panukat Isda as standard equipment in their operations. They likewise signified their commitment to become effective defenders and champions of fish conservation and protection.
“For years we have been taking from our seas, it is about time we started giving back,”
Director Sarmiento said in response to commitments made by the representatives of the different fisheries sectors.
Panukat Isda was first launched on 12 March 2008 at the Imperial Palace Suites, Quezon City, Philippines. In collaboration with the WorldFish Center-Philippine Office and BFAR, FIN organized the Panukat Isda Event and an INCOFISH Exhibit that marked the launching of the fish ruler together with the exhibition of various FishBase tools developed with the INCOFISH project. Representatives from the press, government agencies, non-government and international organizations, and students came to the first-ever launch.
Leaders of the scientific community and industry served as resource speakers during the March 2008 launch, comprising Dr. Wilfredo Campos, Associate Professor of the University of the Philippines at Visayas, who spoke on Status of Philippine Fisheries, and Ms. Charlotta Järnmark, INCOFISH WP1 Leader, who talked on INCOFISH Project: Panukat Isda. Mr. Nong Rangasa, Executive Director for CIRCA, Environmental and Eco-Cultural Tourism of Albay, Mayor Marcelo Navarro, Jr. of Bani, Pangasinan, and Mr. Charlie Capricho from the National Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council, all gave their responses.
Since its March 2008 launch, the Panukat Isda has been widely accepted and has spurred interests among Philippine government agencies as well as local NGOs. A series of workshops promoting the Panukat Isda has since been conducted with the Philippine Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, specifically on Training Workshop for Market Reporters on the Panukat Isda Survey, which was held 21 April 2008; with the World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines on Fish Ruler: Towards Sustainable Fisheries in Key WWF Sites, 23 April 2008; and with Conservation International–Philippines on Basic Fishery Law Enforcement Training, 8 May 2008. Collaboration with the CI-P and WWF-P primarily focused on introducing the fish ruler concept, creating fish rulers, and promoting fish rulers in fishing communities in their projects sites