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Region:    Asia

Rapid value chain assessment of the tuna fisheries sector in the Philippines Philippines

USAID - Project Dates:
May 2016 - September 2016

Description of Project:
The objectives of USAID Oceans activity is to: (1) develop a financially sustainable regional catch documentation and traceability (CDT) system to combat IUU fishing and seafood fraud in areas where sustainable fisheries management plans (SFMP) are being applied; (2) expand use of the CDT system to priority biodiversity areas in the Asia Pacific region; (3) strengthen human and institutional capacity of regional organizations to conserve marine biodiversity through SFMPs, including actions to combat IUU fishing and seafood fraud; and (4) enhance public-private partnerships (PPPs) to conserve biodiversity, promote sustainable fisheries management, and combat IUU fishing and seafood fraud.

In the first two years, USAID Oceans will focus extensively on the development of the CDT system and demonstration in two learning sites in the Sulu-Celebes Sea—one in Bitung/Manado, Indonesia and one in General Santos, Philippines. As USAID Oceans develops the CDT system, it will also work to strengthen sustainable fisheries management and human welfare issues in the two learning sites. USAID Oceans will expand implementation of the CDT system and SFMP to areas in the Asia-Pacific region that are important for marine biodiversity in Years 3-5.

Services Provided:

Poseidon conducted the following activities:

  • Mapped the critical actors in the value chain and identified the key end markets for tuna from the Philippines, regional and international, with with an emphasis on the Bitung/Manado region.

  • Identified the CDT requirements of different stakeholders within the tuna industry in Indonesia, focusing on value chains linked to the USAID Oceans demonstration site in the Bitung/Manado region.

  • Identified the various leverage points for CDT and fisheries management data collection, and made a business case for different actors through traceability and differentiation.

  • Identified the priority end-markets for Indonesia tuna, weighting the percentage of fish per origin, value per origin and identified current and future import traceability requirements that may impact/disrupt current trade flow.

  • Explored buyer/consumer requirements in these priority export markets and identified the perceived value (i.e. premium, preferred market access) of traceability.