Jaime,
I find myself in total agreement with you about the 10% pricing issue. It seems that the three exporters who are MAC Certified (Aquarium Habitat, HD Marineworld, and Aquascapes Philippines) have agreed to pay collectors 10% more for net-caught fish from MAC Certified collection sites (Batasan Island and Clarin in the municipality of Tubigon on the Island of Bohol). I believe that they also agreed to pay 50% of the transportation charges for shipping the fish to Manila.
I have been trying to obtain the pricing paid to collectors recommended by the Philippine Tropical Fish Exporters Association (PFTEA). I had the pricing from 1999 but Lolita Ty claims that the pricing paid to all collectors by PFTEA members has increased. However, she refused to provide the price list. Hence, I don't know exactly what the baseline is (exisiting PFTEA pricing) against which the price to MAC Certified collectors is now 10% more. In any event, Lino Alvarez (MAC-Philippines Coordin
ator) told me it only applies to 7 species coming from the MAC Certified collection sites (Batasan and Clarin).
I agree with you that the pricing paid to collectors in general is very low (e.g., a few pesos for a damelfish). So, the 10% increase probably does not pay for the extra time and effort the collectors must expend to collect with nets, and fill out all the paper work demanded by the MAC. Without actual pricing data, it is difficult to judge whether the pricing is fair or adequate. The fact that other collectors, trained to use nets by IMA or Haribon/OVI, and who participated in the creation of CAMPs with the MAC, now refuse to be part of the MAC certification program indicates to me that the MAC pricing still is not deemed sufficient by the collectors.
Roger Hernandez (Head of the Net-Collectors Association in Palauig NW Luzon) submitted a letter in December 2002 to the MAC complaining that one MAC-Certified exporter associated with the PFTEA had refused to pay more for net-caught fish. He also complained about being cheated by screeners in that exporter's facility. Fish collected to order were refused on delivery to several MAC Certified exporters and many of the fishes were rejected by the screeners who wanted bribes (kickbacks) from the collectors. Peter Scott of the MAC met last week with Roger Hernandez and the head of the collectors association from Bagac, Bataan. Scott told me on the telephone that the meeting went very well in resolving the complaints of the net-collectors. Ferdinand Cruz has informed me that it did not. So, I don't believe the issues were resolved to the satisfaction of the non-certified collectors who participated in the MAC Feasability Study in 2001 and the MAC CAMP program in 2002.
The collectors have formed a Net-Collectors Association. I am told that there are several non-PFTEA export companies now paying higher prices (better than that offered by MAC Certified exporters) to the collectors for marine aquarium fishes from Palauig, Busuanga, Coron, Bagac, and other sites in Mindanao, Leyte, and Bicol. These companies are starting to export 100% net-caught fish at competetive export prices. Further information on these matters will be posted soon on Mary Middlebrook's web site.
Sincerely,
Peter Rubec