RICH VESSELS, EMPTY NETS: How illegal fishing is starving coastal families

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

(This story was updated to reflect the correct quotes of the Oceana study’s authors)

Strict enforcement of the Fisheries Code, science-based harvest controls, and immediate accountability for erring officials are the critical solutions mandated by a new assessment to halt the catastrophic collapse of the Philippine fisheries sector.

The warning comes from a comprehensive study titled “The Philippine Fisheries Assessment: A Glimpse of RA 10654’s 10-Year Implementation,” released Monday last week at the University of the Philippines Diliman campus by international marine protection organization Oceana.

The study was written by UP Visayas scientists Dr. Alice Joan G. Ferrer, Dr. Wilfredo L. Campos, and Dr. Harold M. Monteclaro.

Without these urgent interventions, the report warns, the country faces nothing short of a national food security crisis.

The findings paint a picture of a sector in freefall.

According to the report, the Philippines is losing 45 million kilograms of fish catch annually due to a toxic combination of weak law enforcement and governance failures.

Since 2010, total losses have reached a staggering 591,136 metric tons of fish. This figure point to the irreversible decline of the country’s primary protein source.

Von Hernandez, Oceana Vice President, did not mince words when emphasizing the severity of the situation during the launch.

“This is a national food security emergency,” Hernandez said.

He pointed to the direct impact on millions of Filipinos who rely on the sea for survival and called for decisive leadership from the very top to address the crisis.

“Our fisheries are being emptied, and with them, the livelihoods and food sources of millions of Filipinos. We call on President Marcos Jr. to reverse this alarming trend by investigating and holding to account the government officials and vested interests responsible for this gross neglect,” Hernandez stated.

A DECADE OF DECLINE

The study, authored by scientists from the University of the Philippines Visayas – Dr. Alice Joan G. Ferrer, Dr. Wilfredo L. Campos, and Dr. Harold M. Monteclaro – attributes the decline to the ineffective implementation of Republic Act 10654, or the amended Fisheries Code.

Capture fisheries production has plummeted from 2.6 million metric tons in 2010 to just 1.9 million metric tons in 2023.

Based on regression analysis, this represents an annual average decline of 45,472 metric tons.

Despite this drop, the sector remains a massive economic engine, with total fisheries production in 2023 amounting to 4.26 million metric tons. This production carried a corresponding value of PHP 326.7 billion.

However, the authors describe this as a high-stakes sector whose long-term sustainability is hanging by a thread.

The government’s own National Stock Assessment Program (NSAP), cited in the report, indicates that 88% of fishing grounds are overfished and depleted. This means we are catching fish faster than they can reproduce.

THE HUMAN COST

Beyond the data, this scarcity is driving deep, painful poverty in our coastal towns

The assessment reveals that more than 353,000 fisherfolk families fell below the poverty line in 2023. This represents nearly 15% of the 2.5 million fisherfolk families in the country.

Even more alarming, of these families, more than 93,000 are classified as food-poor. These are families unable to afford even the most basic food requirements.

“Our fishers are the ones putting food on our table, yet they are the ones going hungry and struggling from poverty,” Hernandez noted.

The economic reality for these workers is grim. The average monthly income for fishers has stagnated between PHP 2,500 and PHP 7,000.

This is often far below the poverty threshold. As a result, the next generation is abandoning the trade in droves.

Young people perceive the sector as having limited opportunities for economic advancement. They cite paltry incomes, physical risks, and a preference for stability as reasons for leaving.

Consequently, the workforce is aging rapidly. The average age of the Filipino fisher is now between 49 and 52 years old.

INVASION OF MUNICIPAL WATERS

The assessment identifies the encroachment of commercial fishing vessels into municipal waters as a primary driver of this decline.

These waters, the 15-kilometer zone from the coastline, are legally reserved for small-scale, artisanal fishers.

However, Oceana’s Karagatan Patrol detected 270,165 night lights within municipal waters and protected areas from 2017 to 2024.

Night lights are reliable indicators of commercial fishing vessels, which use strong lighting to attract fish.

The data shows persistent intrusion. From 2017 through June 2024, there were 270,165 detections across fisheries management areas.

By June 2024 alone, there were already 19,584 detections reported.

This illegal commercial intrusion has a direct price tag. It resulted in an estimated income loss of PHP 5.4 billion for the country’s 2.3 million registered municipal fishers in 2022 and 2023 alone.

The assessment estimates the annual illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fish catch in those two years at 107,176 metric tons.

Commercial vessels account for 54% of this financial loss. They are effectively robbing artisanal fishers of their catch.

“Instead of enforcing science-based recovery measures as mandated by law, DA-BFAR is peddling amendments that would let commercial fishing fleets raid municipal waters – the final refuge for our recovering stocks and small fishers,” Hernandez argued.

“This is incompetence meeting greed, and it’s shrinking our fisheries and emptying people’s nets,”.

PROTECTING THE SANCTUARY

Dr. Alice Joan Ferrer, Executive Director of Too Big To Ignore Philippines and Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs of UP Visayas, stressed the necessity of safeguarding municipal waters.

“Protecting municipal waters is not only for the fisherfolk but for everybody,” Ferrer said.

She argued that the health of these waters impacts the entire nation.

“We must protect the fisheries sector,” he continued. “It is a foundation of food security, culture and economic resilience.”

Dr. Ferrer also highlighted that management strategies must be rooted in data, not politics.

“Its management must be guided by sound science. When fisheries are well-managed, we don’t just protect our fish – we secure our nation’s food, culture and future,” she explained.

She also advocated for a policy shift that favors the most vulnerable stakeholders.

“We push for equity, making sure that the small-scale fishers who catch little but feed many are prioritized in decision making and resource access.”

HIDDEN ROLE OF WOMEN

The assessment also shed light on the overlooked contributors to the sector: women.

Women play a dominant but undervalued role in gleaning—gathering shellfish and invertebrates in shallow waters. They account for 71% of registered fisherfolk engaged in gleaning.

While this activity is critical for the food security and nutrition of coastal households, it is often viewed merely as a “support role.”

Despite their significant economic contribution through processing and marketing, women’s roles do not typically translate into decision-making power. They are often underrepresented in governance structures.

The Oceana report notes that women gleaners are disproportionately affected by regulations like Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) but have little say in establishing them.

CALL FOR COLLABORATION

Dr. Campos echoed the need for collaborative, science-based intervention as the solution lies in better cooperation.

“There should be tighter working together from those in the government and other stakeholders,” Campos urged.

“We have adequate information to intervene, but we don’t take time to sit down, discuss and decide what and how to intervene. It is time to look at the possibilities of what we can do if we work together (academe, government, stakeholders),” he added.

Dr. Harold Monteclaro, Dean of the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences at UP Visayas, emphasized the role of the academe in solving the crisis.

“We come from the academe, so we rely on scientific data and we make recommendations based on that data. So we call on everyone to help, and for those who have the data to share these,” Monteclaro urged.

He also stressed the importance of strengthening local governance frameworks.

“We promote alliances among and across local government units and work together with the national government to ensure sustainability of fisheries management initiatives,” Monteclaro said.

“At the end of the day, somebody must look at the welfare of our fisherfolk.”

THE GOVERNANCE GAP

In the Oceana report, Dr. Ferrer framed the situation as a “wicked problem” – one that is difficult to solve due to incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements.

“The first stage of resolving the wicked problem is recognizing the problem. The second stage is to accept the fact that we must do something about it. Third is to find viable solutions to address the problem,” Dr. Ferrer said.

She also argued that governance is the key.

“When we are addressing a wicked problem, we should look at the governance. We need to change the approach, it should be transdisciplinary – it demands action.”

The consensus is that new laws are not needed; the existing ones just need to work.

“We have all the laws, what we need to do is just to implement it correctly and for all agencies to perform their mandate,” Dr. Ferrer said. “We have to be more open to sharing and collaboration.”

BATTLE OVER VESSEL MONITORING

A key recommendation centers on vessel monitoring requirements for commercial fishing vessels.

The report states that these measures have been stalled by legal challenges and suspensions. This leaves gaps in transparency and accountability that allow illegal activity to persist.

The assessment noted the June 1, 2021, Malabon City Regional Trial Court decision declaring Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) No. 266 “null and void.”

Implementation was suspended afterward while consolidated petitions were filed with the Supreme Court.

The Office of the President ordered a temporary nationwide suspension of FAO 266 on March 13, 2023.

However, this suspension was later reversed with an order from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

He directed the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to work with the Office of the Executive Secretary on issuances requiring commercial fishing vessels to install vessel monitoring systems.

Despite this directive, the assessment said the Supreme Court has not yet issued a decision on the consolidated petitions.

Furthermore, BFAR has yet to disclose vessel monitoring data to concerned agencies for effective enforcement and fisheries management. This lack of transparency hinders efforts to stop the bleeding in the sector.

The report emphasizes that monitoring tools are available now.

Satellite-based detections, like those used by Oceana’s Karagatan Patrol, prove that the technology exists.

The experts argue that government agencies must build capacity to analyze and operationalize such data. This is especially crucial for municipal waters where commercial activity is strictly prohibited by law.

Beyond enforcement, the assessment pointed to science-based management tools.

These include reference points and harvest control rules to ensure fishing pressure is reduced to sustainable levels. Relying on “closed seasons” alone is no longer sufficient.

Oceana said the report’s findings should redirect the national conversation.

The focus must shift away from weakening protections and toward enforcing the Fisheries Code.

It is a battle to save the municipal waters, which the report describes as “the final refuge” for recovering stocks and small-scale fishers.