Zambales fishers renew call to protect municipal waters
MASINLOC, ZAMBALES — Some small-scale fishermen here urged the government to protect their fishing grounds and stop the operation of commercial fishing vessels within municipal waters during an activity marking the National Fisherfolks Day on Saturday.
Fisherman Jojo Ecijan, 45, said at least 20 commercial fishing vessels have been swarming seven nautical miles or 12 kilometers from the shores of Masinloc town, or well within the 15-km municipal waters.
Based on data from the Philippine Coast Guard, there are 81 commercial fishing vessels registered in the province, only 15 of which are from this town.
According to Ecijan, commercial fishers from other towns were prohibited from entering their municipal water last year but have been allowed this year.
He added that the increasing presence of the commercial fishing vessels have displaced fishermen with small boats as they were forced to go farther just to bring a catch to their families.
Ecijan, who owns a small boat, needed to spend P1,000 to P1,500 each fishing trip. But during his fishing trip from May 16 to 20, where had to fish some 30 nautical miles away from his town, they only caught up to seven kilos of fish.
Protest
“The catch is fewer now. The most we can get is 7 to 10 kilos [of fish] that can be sold for P1,600 to P2,000 while those commercial fishing vessels, their investment is big but they still use nets with small holes so they can catch more, leaving nothing else for us,” he lamented
On Saturday, Ecijan and fellow small-scale fishermen in this province joined a protest in this town organized by Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) to assert their rights on the municipal waters.
In a statement, PMCJ said the threat to the livelihoods of small fishermen by commercial fisheries is growing and has been further exacerbated by the Supreme Court’s decision in December 2024 that allowed large companies to fish within 15 kilometers of municipal waters.
“This is a dangerous decision because what was previously the exclusive domain of small-scale trawlers under the Fisheries Code is now freely accessible to commercial fisheries. The full-scale entry of commercial fisheries – which were previously illegal, unreported, and unregulated – will further destroy the natural habitat of fish due to their destructive practices,” the statement reads.
PMCJ, other environmental and fishermen groups were among those who trooped to Metro Manila and demanded from the Marcos administration to undo the Supreme Court ruling.
According to fishers group Pamalakaya, approximately 90 percent of every municipal water will be open for exploitation of big fishing firms if the high tribunal’s ruling is fully implemented.
It said the ruling would allow commercial fishers within the municipal waters with depth beyond seven fathoms (12.8 meters).
The group noted that based on an initial study of a marine scientist, only 10 percent of municipal waters are less than seven fathoms deep, thus threatening the livelihood of small fisherfolks.
