San Marino stops production of canned Tawilis products

“San Marino is committed to doing its share in protecting and preserving our marine wildlife and natural resources,” it said in a statement. (Photo: San Marino Corned Tuna/Facebook)

CDO Foodsphere Inc.’s San Marino on Saturday, January 26, announced that it will be pulling out its Tawilis-made products from stores in line with the preservation of the recently-declared endangered fish species.

“San Marino is committed to doing its share in protecting and preserving our marine wildlife and natural resources,” it said in a statement.

“As a testament to our commitment, we have already stopped the production of San Marino Premium Tawilis and will begin withdrawing our stocks from all stores as soon as possible,” it added.

The Switzerland-based International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) earlier included Tawilis or “Sardinella Tawilis” on the list of endangered species. The said species can only be found in Taal Lake, Batangas.

According to its assessment done in February 2017 and published in 2018, the IUCN said there are major threats in to fish diversity  in Taal Lake “due to overexploitation, pollution, and competition and/or predation with introduced fishes, resulting in continuing declines in habitat quality and number of mature individuals.”

It also noted a significant decline in the catches of Tawilis since 1998, estimating that it dropped by about 49 percent over the past 10 years.

San Marino said it will be coordinating with other government regulatory bodies as well as authorities in Taal Lake to help preserve the Tawilis.

Dr. Mudjekeewis Santos of the National Academy of Science and Technology, in a report by GMA’s 24 Oras, said the inclusion of Tawilis in the list of endangered species should serve as a “wake-up call”  to the Filipino people.

“‘Wag na sana nating  paabutin na maging (We should not reach the point that Tawilis will be) critically endangered by doing nothing. May pag-asa, may management na ginagawa (There is still hope, there is management that can be done),” he said.

In an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA) Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) Chief Elmer Bascos of Batangas said their agency and the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) has been taking steps to preserve the endangered species even before the IUCN released its assessment.

Bascos said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Calabarzon and DENR in Batangas have already scheduled a meeting with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) on January 29 to discuss the matter and decide on policy recommendations.

“The meeting will identify ‘tawilis’ conservation areas in the fishing grounds off the towns of Cuenca, Nicolas and Balete,” he told PNA.