Supreme Court decision may accelerate fish stock decline

Mayors and fishermen oppose the ruling, citing threats to livelihood

Protected habitats are found in municipal waters

By Mariejo Ramos

Fishermen fear that they will now be forced to compete with large vessels on municipal waters, a 15-km (9-mile) stretch of water off the coasts of cities.

Rommel Escarial (37), who has been fishing Manila Bay since he became a teenager, said that once commercial fishing vessels entered the area, it would be impossible to catch fish.

The Supreme Court ruled last year that a ban on large scale fishing in municipal waters was invalid. About 2 million people depend on fishing as their main source of income.

Grizelda Mayo-Anda, an attorney with the Environmental Legal Assistance Center, said that commercial fishermen have been fishing in municipal waters even though the Supreme Court's decision has not yet become final.

Mayo-Anda's NGO, which has joined a number of appeals, said that "commercial fishers in Palawan Province" now take advantage of the ruling.

Municipal waters provide income for communities that are among the poorest in the country, and also serve as an extension of marine protected areas, preventing overfishing of productive habitats, allowing a recovery of depleted stock.

Since years, small-scale Filipino fishermen who use sustainable methods like hand-lining, casting net fishing, or bamboo fish corrals have been fighting the invasion of commercial fishing boats in municipal waters.

According to data released by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in 2022, there are more than 370,000 municipal fishing boats and 5,000 commercial vessels registered in the Philippines.

According to government statistics, the production of fisheries dropped by 5% last year. Meanwhile, commercial and municipal fishermen's production declined by almost a quarter between 2010 and 2023 because of overfishing, illicit fishing, and habitat destruction.

Commercial fishing involves trawling. A vessel will use nets to catch everything that is in its way, causing damage to coral reefs, seagrasses and other habitats.

"If we allow commercial fishermen to fish in municipal waters even if they are not allowed, our fisheries will continue to decline," said Jerwin B. Baure, marine biologist and a member of the Advocates of Science and Technology for the People (an association of Filipino scientists).

FEW PROTECTIONS

In February, the League of Municipalities (an association of over 1,400 mayors) questioned this ruling, saying that preferential rights to small-scale vessels was "a matter of social justice, environmental sustainability and economic stability."

Alfredo Coro is the mayor of Del Carmen on the coast of the Philippines. He appealed both to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines and to the Supreme Court Justices to reverse the ruling.

According to the Philippine Association of Marine Science, 15 percent of the Philippines' 2 million square kilometers (772,000 sq. miles) of maritime waters are municipal waters. Commercial fishing vessels can fish in 84% of the territorial waters.

The shallowest waters, up to 50 meters deep, are where the best fishing is done because of their proximity to sunlight and nutrients.

According to the Philippine fisheries code small and medium commercial vessels can be granted permission to fish within municipal waters, without using active gears such as trawlers or nets that damage ecosystems.

Trawls can be used to catch saltwater fish like anchovies and shrimps. Purse seines are used for mid- and surface-water species, such as tuna, sardines and mackerel.

Baure stated that the court's ruling could force commercial and municipal boats to compete for fish stocks. Smaller boats would be at a distinct disadvantage due to fuel and equipment.

"Our country faces a number of cases of illegal fisheries, including commercial vessels entering municipal waters illegally. "That alone was a difficult task to control," said he.

(source: Reuters)