OCEANA Philippines warned of the potential depletion of fish stocks after a Supreme Court (SC) resolution allowing commercial fishing operations in municipal waters.
“We are worried that this court decision will result in the depletion of our fish stocks with the unabated fishing operations of commercial fishers, displacement of our small, municipal fisherfolk, and destruction of marine habitats and spawning grounds of juvenile fish needed to restore our fisheries,” Oceana Vice-President Gloria E. Ramos said in a statement.
The SC’s First Division upheld a Malabon Regional Trial Court ruling declaring the Fisheries Code’s preferential access provisions unconstitutional.
Under the Republic Act No. 10654, or the Amended Fisheries Code of the Philippines, commercial fishing vessels are only allowed to operate outside a 15-kilometer zone designated as municipal waters.
Oceana said 533 out of 884 coastal towns in the Philippines will now have to open up 90% of their municipal waters to commercial fishing vessels.
“All these will push back the reforms for science-based fishery management areas system now in place, rendering irrelevant the vessel monitoring requirement for commercial fishing vessels,” Ms. Ramos added.
She said that the move could also lead to “deeper hunger and poverty” among small-scale fisherfolk due to more intense competition.
In a statement over the weekend, the Department of Agriculture said that it was urging the High Court to reconsider its decision.
“At a depth of seven fathoms, or 12 meters, corals are at risk, and our scarce marine resources could face further depletion,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said during a meeting with fishing industry representatives.
The volume of fish catch delivered to regional ports declined by 11.5% to 42,445.26 metric tons in December, according to the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority. — Adrian H. Halili
