House inquiry eyed on impact of commercial fishing in municipal waters

An inquiry has been proposed in the House of Representatives on the impact of allowing commercial vessels within municipal waters on small fisherfolk and the environment. 

House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro of ACT Teachers party-list, House Assistant Minority Leader Arlene Brosas and Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel made the call under their House Resolution 2202, saying that the 1987 Constitution guarantees the rights of subsistence fisherfolk to preferential use and access to municipal waters, and protects and advances the right of Filipinos to a balanced and healthful ecology.

The opposition lawmakers said a congressional inquiry is crucial given the recent Supreme Court decision that allowed commercial fishing within the 15-kilometer boundary of municipal waters.

“There is a constitutional guarantee [that] protects marginalized fisherfolk who depend on municipal waters for their livelihood and subsistence from being displaced by bigger commercial fishing. The allowance of commercial fishers to operate within municipal waters deeper than seven fathoms (12.8 meters) will not only be detrimental to small scale fisherfolk but can also have an adverse effect in sustaining the ecological and marine ecosystems in the area,” the lawmakers said.

“The 15-kilometer municipal waters reserved for municipal fishers is merely two million square kilometers or only 15% of the Philippine waters. This entails that allowing commercial fishers to access the municipal waters would further shrink the reserved waters for small-scale fisherfolks to 2%, and would open up 98% of Philippine waters to large-scale and commercial fishing vessels,” they added.

The legislators also cited the opposition expressed by various fisherfolk groups and conservationist organizations over the presence of commercial fishers in municipal waters which sees the High Court ruling as something that could further legitimize the monopolization and corporate plunder of traditional fishing grounds. 

Further, the lawmakers said that illegal commercial fishing is already rampant in municipal waters based on the records of non-government organization on marine conservation Oceana that examined the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) from 2019-2024.

Based on the said Oceana’s study of the GEBCO, alleged illegal commercial fishing is pervasive in Philippine municipal waters.

The study identified the top 10 areas where the alleged illegal fishing activities are rampant: Zamboanga City; Tongkil, Sulu; San Pascual, Masbate; Milagros, Masbate; Languyan, Tawi-Tawi; Cuyo, Palawan; Cawayan, Masbate; Hadji Mohammad Ajul, Basilan; Calauag, Quezon; and Carles, Iloilo.

In addition, the lawmakers stressed the government is mandated to protect the livelihoods of small scale and artisanal fisherfolks, ensure food security, and preserve Philippine marine biodiversity. —LDF, GMA Integrated News