MILLIONS of small-scale fishers depend on municipal waters. Therefore, the controversy over whether commercial fishing vessels should be allowed is more than a policy issue.
The Iloilo State University of Fisheries Science and Technology (ISUFST) and the University of the Philippine Visayas support the law prohibiting commercial fishing in municipal waterways. While protecting local fisherfolk, this role also protects maritime habitats, food security, and social justice.
With rising evidence of overfishing and municipal fishers’ challenges, we must back the appeal of UPV and ISUFST, two universities with the top fisheries programs in the country, to keep commercial fishing vessels out of these vulnerable waterways.
Municipal fishermen have used coastal waters within 15 kilometers for years. Their revenue comes from these waters, often exclusively. Small fishermen use wooden boats, nets, and hand lines instead of sonar, trawlers, and purse seines. They fish sustainably, taking only what is needed to rebuild marine populations. When huge commercial fishing vessels enter these seas, unbalance is obvious. It is likeĀ pittingĀ a sari-sari store owner against SM. The playing field is unfair.
Municipal fishers have privileged access to municipal waterways under the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 (RA 8550), as revised by RA 10654. This law prioritizes resource allocation for vulnerable sectors based on social fairness. The Constitution requires the state to foster a just and dynamic social order and prevent economic measures from marginalizing the poor. Allowing commercial vessels into municipal seas strips local fishermen of legal safeguards, driving them further into poverty and economic insecurity.
Overfishing plagues our waterways. Anticamara and Go (2016) and Santos et al. (2017) found that unsustainable harvesting destroys several fish stocks. The 2017 National Stock Assessment Program (NSAP) of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) found that most major Philippine fishing areas are overfished, with extraction greatly outpacing natural replenishment. Commercial vessels with high-efficiency fishing gear exacerbate depletion in municipal waterways. This threatens marine biodiversity and small fisher income, impacting the food chain.
Allowing commercial vessels in municipal waterways is disastrous economically. In 2021, 30.6% of small-scale fishers were poor, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). A single commercial vessel can catch what hundreds of small fishers do in two weeks in one day. The huge catch volume-financial return gap shows how skewed this debate is. Commercial fishermen entering municipal waters will further impoverish struggling communities, driving many to quit.
Commercial fishing in municipal waters truly harms the ecosystem. Commercial fishing tactics like trawling and purse seining irreparably destroy marine environments. SEAFDEC (2022) discovered that bottom trawling destroys coral reefs and seagrass beds, which many marine species depend on for breeding and rearing. These ecosystems protect against coastal erosion and storm surges and are biodiversity hotspots. Allowing harmful commercial fishing into these vulnerable places will cause environmental disaster. (To be continued)/PN
