Underreporting of Tuna Catch: Implications to Technical Efficiency of Handline Fishing Vessels in General Santos City, Philippines

Abstract

With the increasing demand for tuna products and dwindling marine resources, there is a need to promote sustainability measures. By far, illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is one of the most damaging problems in the fishing industry because it directly affects fisheries stocks. In this study, we identified the level of IUU fishing, particularly underreporting of tuna catch, in the Philippines. Moreover, we also identified the drivers of IUU fishing and the implications of IUU activities to the technical efficiency (TE) performance of fishing vessels. We collected the samples in General Santos City, the tuna capital of the Philippines. There were two data sets gathered in this study: an annual panel data (2012−2014) of reported inputs and catch level of 216 registered fishing vessels at the Fish Port Authority and primary data (2014) involving 40 handline tuna fishers. The latter data, assumed to be closer to the “true” level of inputs and catches, were compared per vessel to the former data set. It revealed a widespread underreporting of catches by 51%−100%. Underreporting is more prevalent among vessels of smaller size. Using stochastic frontier analysis, the TE scores of the tuna fishing vessels were overestimated to 0.80 (2012), 0.70 (2013), and 0.72 (2014) using the panel data while the primary data (2014) set suggested a lower TE score of 0.66. This implies that the actual efficiency performance of the handline tuna fishers could be lower by 6% if reporting were true and correct. Hence, we recommend increasing penalties for IUU fishing, increasing frequency of monitoring activities such as the Fisheries Observer Program, and promoting an enabling environment for small-scale fishers.