Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said on Friday that the country will ask the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) to lift the two-year ban on tuna fishing in two identified pockets of international waters.

In a message delivered by former Senator Mar Roxas, Aquino said the Philippines will push for the opening of portions of the high seas to Philippine tuna catchers or give the country “preferential treatment.”    

The ban, which initially took effect in January this year, prohibits the use of fish aggregating devices in catching yellowfin tuna and other tuna-like fish species.

It covers more than 306,000 square miles of open seas south of Micronesia and north of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea where over 38 Philippine-flag purse seine fishing ships operate.

Member countries violating the ban will be de-listed from the WCPFC.

The ban however exempts handline tuna catching, a traditional Filipino fishing method.

Fishing inside the 200-mile exclusive economic zone of member countries of the WCPFC is also allowed provided a vessel monitoring system is observed and observers from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) are allowed on board.

The ban has already directly affected close to 1,500 workers employed by fishing companies who were laid off following compliance to the WCPFC circular.  

BFAR director Malcolm Sarmiento said they will submit the Philippine position during the meeting of the WCPFC in December in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Sarmiento said the ban is impractical.

“The measure is not achieving it purpose,” as Sarmiento reasoned that banning tuna fishing in areas of the species’ migratory path will not solve the rapid depletion of tuna stocks.

He said the practical way of conserving tuna stock is to limit the capacity of catch by each member countries of the WCPFC.

“We will seek for a thorough review of the ban. (We believe the) logic of the measure will be put to test,” the fisheries chief said.