AT LEAST 5,000 fisherfolk are expected to be displaced if commercial fishing operations are allowed in municipal waters adjoining the Visayan Sea, a fisheries professor said.
Citing the results of a simulation, Wilfredo L. Campos, a professor at the University of the Philippines-Visayas College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, said: “Let us assume there would be a 5% increase in commercial catch if they are allowed in the Visayan Sea. In our simulation, about 5,000 municipal fishers will not have anything to catch,” said.
The Visayan Sea is the body of water bounded by Masbate, Panay, Leyte, Cebu, and Negros islands.
Fisherfolk and environmental groups expressed their opposition to the proposed new changes to Republic Act No. 10654 or the Amended Fisheries Code of the Philippines, saying such changes unduly favor commercial operators.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., who is also the Secretary of Agriculture, asked Congress for such amendments during his second State of the Nation Address (SONA).
He said that the code needs to be revised to “incorporate and science-based analysis” and determine fishing areas for the protection of fisherfolk and resources.
“Any increase in yield for any sector, commercial or municipal, will result in the decrease in yield of the other,” Mr. Campos said.
According to Oceana, the commercial fishing industry is proposing to remove the restriction on fishing in waters 10.1-15 kilometers offshore to allow “unrestricted access to fish” within municipal waters.
Under the law, commercial fishing vessels are only allowed outside the 15-kilometer limit delineating municipal waters.
In 2022, municipal fisheries accounted for 1.22 million metric tons (MT) of fish or 25.9% of national production.
Aquaculture accounted for 2.35 million MT or 54% of the total while the commercial fisheries segment’s output was 868,408 MT or 20%.
Agriculture Undersecretary Mercedita A. Sombilla said that the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) have initiated a review of the Fisheries Code as authorized by Section 161 of the law, which provides for “mandatory review… every 5 years.”
“Based on the review, amendments may be made when necessary to address gray areas/operational/implementation issues to ensure that fisheries policies are responsive to changing circumstances,” she said in a Viber message.
She said during a Post-SONA briefing that the proposed amendments will include pre-border controls to ensure the safety of imported fish.
“The initiative for review did not emanate from any stakeholder. It was initiated in compliance with the law. The code was amended in 2015, it is (overdue) for review,” she added.
In 2015, amendments were made to address illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUUF).
Daniel Ocampo, senior campaign manager for Oceana, said that the mandatory review does not automatically call for immediate amendments to be made.
“Existing mechanisms established under the amended Fisheries Code continue to respond to the impacts of climate change, the status of fish stocks, and the evolving needs of the present times,” he said. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera