Senate Bill 8-50 stems from a proposal made by the SOCSKSARGEN Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries, Inc., of the Philippines, who will be working with the Palau Fishing Association to develop handline and purse-seining fishing methods in Palau’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
According to the committee report, companies engaged in fishing under these permits would be able to use a transshipment port in the Philippines for their catch, instead of using Malakal Harbor in Palau.The measure said, these operations would be exempt from Palau’s fish export tax for a period of three years while they work to cover their start-up costs.The measure said that this will “encouragethe growth of this fishing method will allow Palau to better utilize its marine resources, which in turn will help Palau develop its economy and help the national government realize more local tax revenues,”The committee report said that comments received from a number of interested parties, including ministries, the Belau Tourism Association, the Palau Chamber of Commerce, and longline fishing corporations currently operating in Palau among the comments voiced out were that ; that these fishing methods are unsustainable because they cannot target specific species like other fishing methods; second, in its original form this legislation did not protect Palau’s interests because Palau would see little to no economic or tax benefit from this new fishing activity; and third, allowing the use of a different transshipment port would make it even more difficult for Palau to oversee this new fishing activity and enforce its strict laws.Taking into account these concerns, the committee recommended that this new fishing method should be restricted to Palauan citizens and corporations wholly owned by Palauans. Second, the Committee finds that the period of exemption from Palau’s fish export tax should be three years rather than five.The report also recommended that the specific authorization to use General Santos City as a transshipment port should be removed and replaced with a general authorization to determine an alternative transshipment port by way of a fishing agreement. This authorization would be allowed only under the following conditions: (1) the entity purchasing the fish from the Palauan fishing company pay the company immediately upon delivery of the fish to port; (2) the entity purchasing the fish pay all expenses associated with reporting and oversight requirements for commercial fishing activities within Palau’s Exclusive Economic Zone; and (3) the Palau fishing company continues to be required to pay taxes on its gross revenue, pursuant to 40 PNC § 1204. The Committee believes that these amendments will help protect against unsustainable fishing activities by restricting who may take advantage of these new fishing agreements.
