Oceana, partners and LGU officials raise alarm on 90% of municipal waters lost to commercial fishers, food and livelihood crisis in coastal communities
Press Release Date: January 18, 2025
International marine protection organization, Oceana, local government officials, fisherfolk and fisheries and science experts warn President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that food and livelihood security crisis is imminent in poor coastal communities if the municipal waters deeper than seven fathoms or 42 feet are ordered open for commercial fishing operations.
The Supreme Court’s First Division issued last year the resolution, upholding the Malabon Regional Trial Court’s decision that declared the preferential access given to small, municipal fishers to catch fish in the 15-kilometer municipal water from the shoreline as unconstitutional, and that Mercidar Fishing Corporation that filed the declaratory relief, is allowed to operate on all territorial waters, provided that the water is seven fathoms or more deep.
Looking into The General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), Oceana found that 533 of 884 coastal towns in the country or 60% of these will open up 90% of their municipal waters to commercial fishing.
Cebu tops the list of provinces with 42 of its coastal municipalities. It is followed by Misamis Oriental (23 coastal towns), Negros Oriental with 19, Southern Leyte with 18, and Leyte, Quezon, and Zamboanga del Norte tied at 17 each to complete the top five local government units that will be adversely affected by the Supreme Court ruling.
“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. All these will push back the reforms for science-based fishery management areas system now in place, render irrelevant the vessel monitoring requirement for commercial fishing vessels and imminently lead to deeper hunger and poverty among artisanal fisherfolk and their families because of the very clear threat to their primary source of livelihood and food and nourishment,” said Atty. Gloria Estenzo Ramos, Oceana Vice President.
Ruperto Aleroza, Vice Chair for the Basic Sectors of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) and the Chair of the Pambansang Katipunan ng mga Samahan sa Kanayunan and a fisherfolk leader from Batangas shared their statement: “Usapin ito ng buhay at kabuhayan ng mga artisanong mangingisda at ng pangisdaan. Hindi makatarungang desisyunan ito dahil lamang sa teknikalidad at hindi sa tunay na kalagayan at pangangailangan ng industriya. Ang pagpasok ng mga komersyal na mangingisda ay maghahatid ng panganib para sa mas malalang pagkasira ng mga kritikal na rekurso at magdudulot ng panganib sa buhay at kagamitan ng mga artisanong mangingisda.”
The municipality of Santa Fe in Northern Cebu will lose 94% of its municipal waters to commercial fishing operations. Mayor Ithamar Espinosa is representing this coastal town of Bantayan Island through the Sangguniang Bayan Resolution issued on December 28, 2024, in the Petition to Intervene in the case now being heard by the Supreme Court. Oceana, Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, and fisherfolk and civil society leaders submitted the petition on January 2, 2025.
“Our municipal waters are the lifeblood of our small fisherfolk and coastal communities. By joining this petition, we are standing up for their rights and fighting to uphold the local government’s role in protecting these resources for future generations. This is about preserving livelihoods, food security, and the integrity of our coastal ecosystems,” said Espinosa.
The local government of Del Carmen together with its Sangguniang Bayan issued their statement after learning about the Supreme Court First Division’s resolution. “The small fishers are recognized as among the poorest sectors in the Philippines are continuously being exposed to multiple threats including impacts of climate change, low income without social protection, and limited access to public services due to their remote habitation. The same fisherfolk contribute as well to feeding 65% of the Filipinos for their preferred protein source coming from the bounty of the municipal waters that have been protected and preserved allowing fish stocks to grow and recover,” Del Carmen Mayor Alfred Coro II said in their statement.
Fisheries scientist, Dr. Wilfredo Campos and one of the petitioners on intervention said removing the 15km boundary of coastal waters reserved by law for municipal fishers will only increase the volume of fish caught from already heavily depleted resources. “This directly contradicts the very solution to the problem of overfishing,” he added.
Campos and other members of the National Scientific Advisory Group submitted to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in 2019 their position that allowing commercial fishing activities inside municipal waters will result in a 230% increase in allowable fishing area for commercial fishing but will have adverse implications to municipal fishers. Their study showed that every 10% increase in commercial fishing activity will have a resulting displacement of 10,000 municipal fishers or 50,000 fishers and their families who will lose their livelihood source.
Oceana, Aleroza, and the local government leaders issued their appeal to President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr to stop efforts to remove the preferential rights of municipal fisherfolk and the powers and responsibilities of local government units as stipulated in the Fisheries Code, as amended, and the Local Government Code of the Philippines to conserve, plan and sustainably manage the fisheries resources and critical marine habitats and ecosystems in the 15-kilometer municipal water zone. (END)
Oceana is the largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Oceana is rebuilding abundant and biodiverse oceans by winning science-based policies in countries that control one-quarter of the world’s wild fish catch. With more than 300 victories that stop overfishing, habitat destruction, oil and plastic pollution, and the killing of threatened species like turtles, whales, and sharks, Oceana’s campaigns are delivering results. A restored ocean means that 1 billion people can enjoy a healthy seafood meal every day, forever. Together, we can save the oceans and help feed the world. Visit Oceana.org to learn more.
For More Information:
Joyce Sierra, Communications Manager, Oceana
Mobile: 09178214430 E-mail: jsierra@oceana.org
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