A fisherfolk group called on the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to go after importers who violated the Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) No. 195.

Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), amid the debates on importation, urged BFAR to spare small fish retailers “who have been forced to sell imported fishes,” and instead “go after fish importers who violated FAO 195.”

“he agency should go after importers who violated the FAO 195 by facilitating frozen fish for direct market sales. Moreover, we assert that if there’s no importation, there would be no imported fish in the local market to begin with,” said Pamalakaya National Spokesperson Ronnel Arambulo in an official statement on Friday, Dec. 2.

Apart from this, the fishers’ group renewed its call to halt fish importation.

“To ensure that no one can smuggle imported fish into the market, importation – which is harmful to both the health of consumers and the livelihood of local fishermen – must be stopped,” Arambulo furthered in Filipino.

Meanwhile, following the recommendations from fisheries stakeholders and lawmakers, BFAR on Friday, Dec. 2, declared a moratorium on the confiscation of imported pink salmon, pompano, and other imported frozen fish products in the Philippine wet markets.

“Momentarily, the Bureau, without disregarding the policy formulation process as mandated by the Philippine Fisheries Code, shall revisit the regulations and policies governing the importation of fresh / chilled / frozen fish and fishery / aquatic products, particularly the FAO 195 series of 1999,” said BFAR.