Once passed into law, it would encourage more investments in the domestic tuna industry, now estimated to be worth only $ 33 million annually.

According to Yap, the law is projected to raise tuna catch from the current 30,000 metric tons annually to 50,000 metric tons per year, a 66.6 percent expansion for an industry that has been hobbled by foreign competition and the threat of arrest of Filipino fishermen by maritime authorities of neighboring countries.

Yap estimated the total number of fishermen to benefit directly from the law to be between 30,000 and 40,000, with their dependents pegged at 200,000. It would also boost the economy of Central Mindanao, he added.

"We are optimistic that the imminent passage of the Handline Fishing bill would further sustain and improve the impressive growth of the fisheries sector, of which the tuna industry accounts for 12 percent of total production," Yap said.

If better technology is encouraged by the law, he said the number of beneficiaries would increase by 5,000, mostly small fishermen from Eastern Samar, Davao, and Western Luzon.

The proposed law clearly defines the registration and licensing of handline fishing, the traditional method of catching fish using a single hook and line, to enable Filipinos to fish in international waters and firm up the country’s status as an exporter of world-class sashimi, smoked fish, and other tuna products.

Recently approved by a bicameral conference committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the measure incorporates a procedure for registration by providing a onestop shop for the industry. Both chambers will approve the consolidated version before it is submitted to President Arroyo for signing.

This proposed law — it consolidates the House bills filed by Reps. Luis Villafuerte of Camarines Sur and Darlene Custodio of South Cotabato and the Senate version sponsored by Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. —provides legal protection on the fishing rights and safety of Filipino handline fishermen, especially those working in international waters.

Under the proposed law, handline fishing would be recognized as a form of commercial fishing to enable fishermen to register with the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) and thus, lawfully fish in international waters.

MARINA would be duty-bound under the proposed law to ensure that all handline fishing vessels are seaworthy and comply with minimum standards on safety, manning, and radio communications.

Since handline fishing is not yet considered a form of commercial fishing, fishermen dependent on this means of livelihood are barred access to international waters. International fishing laws mandate that each country should ensure that its vessels are properly registered and licensed to fish outside national waters.

Yap said the registration and licensing of all handline fishing vessels to enable them to fish in international waters would help boost the Philippines’ credibility as a producer of world-class, high-grade quality tuna.

"The law is a welcome development for the tuna fishing industry because it would promote the competitiveness and sustainability of this sector and its allied industries," Yap said.

According to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), registered Philippine vessels engaged in tuna fishing in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean area only represent less than 10 percent of the total Philippine fishing fleet.

Large, handline-caught tuna are exported as sashimi and marketed either frozen or smoked, mostly in General Santos City, to the United States, Europe, and Japan. In 2005, the tuna industry yielded a total of 530,410 metric tons.

The industry now exports $ 33 million worth of tuna products per year, BFAR records showed.