Overview
The Philippines blue swimming crab is a cosmopolitan species in the coastal waters in the Philippines. This fishery is a significant sub-sector of the crustacean fishery. More than 90% of the catch is from municipal waters, caught within 15 km from the coastline by fishing boats weighing less than 3 gross tonnes. Entangling nets and crab trap/pot are generally used as fishing gears. The stock is steadily declining in volume and size as a result of the depletion of the spawning biomass. Hence, it is the aim of the FIP to rebuild the fishery to a sustainable level in the area of the Visayan Sea and nearby waters.
The FIP works in an integrated approach through (1) collaborative work with government and NGOs, academia and other legal entities; (2) an active information and education campaign; (3) supply chain management; and (4) development of projects and policies that promote sustainability of blue swimming crabs.
The MSC Fishery Standard is the guiding framework of the FIP. Priority projects and initiatives include assessment of stock status, stock enhancement initiatives (establishment of hatcheries and installation of holding cages for egg-bearing crabs), promotion of ecologically-sound gears, campaign awareness programs, capacity building of local communities and increasing support for the implementation of the Philippine blue swimming crab management plan of the government.
The FIP is being initiated by The Philippine Association of Crab Processors, Inc. (PACPI), a group of blue swimming crab processing and exporting companies that operate mainly within the Visayan area. The association was founded in May 2009 in an effort to foster a good relationship among the crab processing sector and to support initiatives promoting blue swimming crab sustainability in the country. At present, 6 of the 8 major companies operating in the Philippines are members of PACPI, representing ninety percent (90%) of the blue swimming crab industry, and are actively providing financial support in the implementation of blue swimming crab sustainability projects. The member companies of PACPI include:
- Blue Star Foods Philippines
- Byrd International Seafoods Cebu
- Cebu Canning Corporation
- Central Seafoods, Inc.
- Phil-Union Frozen Foods, Inc.
- RGE Agridev Corporation
The Philippines blue swimming crab is a cosmopolitan species in the coastal waters in the Philippines. This fishery is a significant sub-sector of the crustacean fishery.
The general objective of the FIP is to attain sustainability for Philippine blue swimming crab compliant with the MSC Fisheries Standard by 2021. In particular, it aims to:
- Increase data collection efforts on the stock status and impacts of the Philippine blue swimming crab fishery to the environment
- Promote and implement activities to help revive the stock of the Philippine blue swimming crab to a sustainable level
- Minimize the impacts of the Philippine blue swimming crab fishery to the environment through protection of habitats and adoption of ecologically-sound gears
- Promote and establish multi-stakeholder approach in the implementation of management schemes
- Perform other tasks relevant to the advancement of the Philippine blue swimming crab industry