BFAR catalyzes formation of Octopus Business Group in pursuing fishery sustainability
Philippines, Quezon City— Octopus commodity producers and exporters, together with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP), and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), banded together in support of the formation of the Philippine Cephalopods Producers and Exporters Association (PCPEA).
PCPEA was formed to address mid and long-term sustainability problems of the Octopus supply chain in the Philippines. This move was initiated under the BFAR-UNDP project: Global Sustainable Supply Chains for Marine Commodities (GMC-PHI), supported by the Global Environment Fund (GEF) and implemented by the BFAR – Capture Fisheries Division.
“Sustainability of the fishery is everyone’s concern,” BFAR Region 9 Director and Octopus Technical Working Group Chairman, Isidro Velayo said “PCPEA is a testament to the joint aspiration of public and private partnership to work hand-in-hand in finding ways to help manage, protect and conserve our resources for the next generation”.
Upon unanimous vote by its board, Mr. Romel Sotto of Seachamp International Exporter Inc. will serve as the PCPEA President and represent the group at the upcoming Global Octopus Supply Chain Roundtable (GOSR) meeting in Boston, Massachusetts this 18 March 2019. The GOSR is a network of international octopus buyers that regularly meets to discuss priorities, actions and progress related to the integration of sustainability in Octopus fisheries across the globe. It is led by GMC Project partner SFP. PCPEA will present to the GOSR its proposed fishery improvement project that will operate within the framework of the upcoming BFAR-supported Octopus Commodity National Management Plan for sustainability.
The current seventeen (17) company membership of PCPEA includes: Seachamp, Seaglory, Crustacean Trading, HJR, Super Royal, Bluefin, Millenium, Sanmar, Ozean 8, Agri Aquatic Care, Aquatic Ace, Cinmic Industrial, Triton, YL Fishing, Central Seafoods, PUFFI, and Makran Trading.
About GMC Project
The Global Sustainable Supply Chains for Marine Commodities (GMC) project contributes to the transformation of the seafood market by mainstreaming sustainability in the value chain of fishery commodities from developing countries. This initiative achieves this goal by employing and strengthening emerging tools such as corporate purchasing policies, sustainable marine commodity platforms, and fisheries improvement projects (FIPs).
The GMC project is an interregional initiative implemented by the Ministries and Bureaus of Fisheries, Production and Planning of Costa Rica, Ecuador, Indonesia and Philippines, with technical support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), facilitated by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).