Mark wrote the following on an earlier post
"Steve,
There are catch limits on these fish. Areas like Bohol and Camotes can only "certify" a few of these highly desireable fish each year.....
Eric,
Where are the blueface and blue tangs coming from? Marcilla, Tawi Tawi or Cayagancillo? HOw many certified blue tangs did get?
There were many problems with the certification in these locations and in fact certification was competely dependant upon them resolving many non-compliances within a particular timeframe. Finally, as of last fall, MAMTI management decided to quit pumping money into both Tawi Tawi and Cayagancillo and gave up much to my dissappointment. I thought this was wrong as the fishers DID NOT have enough training and experience. Last year they did not even want to pack and ship fish without a MAC trainer being present. THEY WERE NOT COMFORTABLE DOING SO because of their poor shipment history. There are other serious issues with the economics of shipping FROM these places as they are far from any majoy export city. They are great fisheries but they come with many challenges.
To my knowledge only two cites in Bohol, and one in Camotes, and maybe one in Marcilla now are actually producing certified fish; and there are few blueface and NO blue tangs coming from there except maybe Marcilla.
I don't mean to be confrontational with this post but am very curious as to where these fish come from. Certification NEEDS TO MEAN SOMETHING.
IMHO, they still need follow up training and extension in Bohol. For that matter, based on what Ive seen here MOST collectors/coordin
ators need reminders or "refresher courses" on handling, holding and packing.... Rember Eric, you ususally get the cream of the crop, IT IS NOT THE NORM, BUT THE EXCEPTION HERE.
With all due respect,
Mark
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We protect what we love..... Love your mother Earth.
Mark, Your posting seems to have been ignored. I thank you for explaining the situation concerning which sites have received trainings by the MAC. I can see that there were many problems with holding and transport. It also looks like the costs of shipping to Manila may have made fishes coming from Tawi Tawi uneconomic. I am sorry to hear that the MAC pulled out of the sites you listed. That does not leave any sites with the appropriate species mix. How sustainable are Clarin, Batasin, Marcilla, and Camotes?
Peter Rubec