PHL seas need to be protected to sustain fishing industry

Modest gains have been in made in saving marine habitats, but the viability of fisheries in the future is far from being a sure thing; this was the conclusion arrived at during the National Symposium on Fisheries, last November 3-4.

“Fishing will no longer be viable in the next 10 to 20 years in Philippine seas at the current rate of destructive practices, but the government can still reverse this trend through recovery efforts,” said Vince Cinches of Greenpeace-Southeast Asia.

Cinches also called on President Benigno Aquino III to create an Oceans Crisis Team to handle the protection, rehabilitation, and conservation of Philippine seas, and to make it a national priority.

According to Attorney Gloria Ramos, Vice President of Oceana Philippines, the country has a “very progressive legal system for the protection of the environment and the species and their habitats.” However, she also mentioned the weak enforcement of laws and the incoherence of policies, both of which pose challenges for conservationists.

Ramos added that 10 out of the 13 fishing grounds in the country are currently over-fished and that fishers are classified as the poorest sector in society.

Dennis Calvan, executive director of NGOs for Fisheries Reform, noted that major sections of the Fisheries Code of 1998 have yet to be fully implemented. These include funding support and guidelines for fishers’ settlements.

Angelique Songco, Park Superintendent of the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, said that there has been no illegal fishing in the area since 2012. “Protecting natural resources depends on good governance. Good governance depends on rule of law. Rule of law depends on compliance,” she explained.

“Laws, rulings and rules remain empty if not implemented by the government and environmental rights are not asserted by the people,” Atty. Ramos concluded.

The symposium was attended by civil society leaders and served as the inauguration of the Philippine office of Oceana, an international organization that aims to restore the world’s oceans. — DVM, GMA News