Friday, September 25, 2015
Oceana welcomes new rules for amended Fisheries Code
Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala signed the implementing rules and regulations for the amended Fisheries Code on Wednesday, September...
September, 2015
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Fisheries Summit renews pledge to combat illegal fishing
Key fisheries stakeholders met to discuss the amended Fisheries Code or Republic Act 10654 and the recently signed implementing rules and...
Monday, August 31, 2015
Oceana is looking for Tañon Strait heroes
As the country celebrates National Heroes Day, Oceana Philippines is calling on the public to nominate deserving individuals working for...
Patricia Majluf
Vice President, Peru
May, 2015
May, 2015
Amended Fisheries Code Becomes Law in the Philippines
Republic Act 10654, which amends the Philippine Fisheries Code, became law in February 2015 after Philippine President Benigno Simeon Aquino III allowed amendments to the 1998 Philippine Fisheries Code to lapse into law — a deliberate inaction in the Philippines that allows items to become law. Under RA 10654, which cracks down on illegal fishing and helps rebuild fisheries, sanctions have been raised to as high as $45 million (PHP) for commercial fishing violators and $2.4 million (PHP) for poachers. Additionally, the amendments call for the installation of a Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) system on all flagged Philippine fishing vessels that help identify commercial vessels operating illegally in Philippine waters, and call for it to be unlawful to intentionally tamper with, switch off or disable the vessel monitoring system.. By passing these amendments, the Philippines avoided penalties by the European Union for failing to meet its standards on sustainable fishing practices.
