US import rule spurs new Iloilo wildlife task force

By Mariela Angella Oladive

The Iloilo provincial government has institutionalized a provincewide program to monitor marine wildlife bycatch and improve responses to stranded marine animals after a U.S. fisheries assessment identified gaps in the country’s marine mammal protection measures.

Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. signed Executive Order No. 72, Series of 2026, on June 29, creating the Marine Wildlife Conservation, Bycatch Monitoring, and Stranding Response Program.

The executive order cites findings by the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) Import Provisions, which raised concerns over threats to marine mammals, including the endangered Irrawaddy dolphin, in relation to fishing activities, particularly blue swimming crab harvesting.

The assessment identified the absence of a marine mammal bycatch monitoring system, the lack of a reporting mechanism for marine mammal injuries and deaths, and insufficient evidence of mitigation measures to reduce marine mammal bycatch and fisheries interactions.

The federal assessment carries trade consequences. NMFS denied a comparability finding for the Philippines’ blue swimming crab fishery in September 2025, imposing an import ban on swimming crab products effective January 1, 2026. The agency reversed that determination on May 12, 2026, granting the fishery a comparability finding valid through December 31, 2029, restoring its access to the U.S. market.

Bycatch refers to the incidental capture, injury, or death of marine wildlife during fishing operations.

Stranding refers to incidents in which marine animals are found ashore, trapped, injured, distressed, sick, or otherwise unable to return to their natural habitat without assistance.

Under the executive order, the province committed to protecting, conserving, rehabilitating, and sustainably managing marine wildlife and their habitats through a coordinated, science-based, and participatory approach involving government agencies, local government units, academic institutions, civil society organizations, fisherfolk, and coastal communities.

The program aims to monitor, document, and reduce marine wildlife bycatch through an integrated reporting and information management system, ensure coordinated responses to strandings and other marine wildlife emergencies, and strengthen scientific research and evidence-based decision-making.

To implement the program, the province created the Marine Wildlife Conservation, Bycatch Monitoring, and Stranding Response Task Force, chaired by the governor.

The regional directors of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, together with Provincial Administrator Raul Banias, will serve as co-chairpersons.

Members include the mayors of Iloilo’s 19 coastal municipalities, representatives from national government agencies, provincial government offices, academic institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and civil society organizations.

The executive order also establishes a Marine Wildlife Reporting and Notification System to coordinate the reporting, verification, and documentation of marine wildlife incidents, a Marine Wildlife Incident Command System for emergency response, and a Marine Wildlife Information System that will serve as a centralized repository of incident records and scientific data.

A Scientific Advisory Panel will provide technical guidance to the task force, while the Provincial Legal Office will oversee the coordinated reporting of violations of environmental and fisheries laws.

The executive order states that the program seeks to support the sustainable management of aquatic resources, strengthen biodiversity protection, improve environmental governance, and contribute to national and international marine conservation efforts.