Fishers groups and ocean conservation advocates in the Philippines said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive related to the implementation of Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) 266 will help protect the country’s marine resources.
The groups welcomed Marcos’ order to the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Bfar) to work closely with the Office of the Executive Secretary for the implementation of FAO 266 which requires commercial fishing vessels to install vessel monitoring devices.
Ruperto Aleroza, vice chairperson for the Basic Sector of the National Anti-Poverty Commission and sectoral representative of artisanal fisherfolk, said the directive is “a victory” for fisherfolk, civil society organizations, and local government units (LGUs).
“The suspension of the vessel monitoring mechanism [VMM] implementation spells the continuing threat of critical habitats of fish and aquatic resources, and a clear violation of the Fisheries Code,” he said in a statement.
In a statement submitted to Malacañang last June 7, fisherfolk groups led by Aleroza appealed to President Marcos to fully implement the commercial fishing vessels monitoring measures under the FAO 266. This was done in response to a memorandum issued Executive Secretary (ES) Lucas Bersamin that suspended its implementation.
Nongovernment organization Oceana opposed the memorandum, saying it is “regressive” and contradicts the Amended Fisheries Code, the Constitutional mandate for the state to protect its marine wealth, and the country’s international obligations to deter illegal unreported and unregulated fishing (IUUF) activities.
“We laud the President for listening to the call of the people who are seriously affected by the suspension of the vessel monitoring rules. This order by ES Bersamin clearly undermines the government’s obligation to establish and strengthen its monitoring, control, and surveillance system, which in turn impedes the ability of the government to enforce fishery laws effectively and efficiently,” said Oceana’s Acting Vice President Rose Liza Eisma-Osorio.
“Failure to deter IUUF, such as uncontrolled intrusion of commercial fishing inside municipal waters resulted in overfishing and depletion of fish stocks in our fishing grounds which caused immense poverty and hunger in our coastal communities.”