Managing fish stock in the South China Sea
This refers to the column of Michael Lim Ubac, “The missing piece of South China Sea puzzle” (Moving Into High Gear, 07/18/24).
It stated that the geopolitics in the South China Sea (SCS) has been front and center of discussions over the contested region; that the territorial disputes are related to three dimensions, namely: security, trade, and potential for drilling oil; while the fisheries perspective is largely absent from the conversation over the West Philippine Sea (WPS) which is the portion of SCS that is well within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). It discussed the salient features related to the fisheries.
On top of these, I would like to present additional important statistical data on the country’s fish catch.
1) Based on published data, the marine fish catch at the national level and West Philippine Sea is as follows: 1.927 million metric tons and 0.324 million MT in 2020; 1.796 million MT and 0.295 million MT in 2021; 1.814 million MT and 0.276 million MT in 2022; and 1.701 million MT and 0.202 million MT in 2023, respectively.
2) Between 2020 and 2023, the national catch decreased by 0.226 million MT or 11.7 percent; while the WPS catch decreased by 0.122 million MT or 38 percent. This indicates that the significant catch decline in WPS facing Region I down to Region IV-B is due to intense overfishing and environmental degradation. This is corroborated by the report that the SCS has been fished down to between 5 percent and 30 percent of its 1950 level.
3) While the country’s marine fish catch between 2010 and 2023 showed a significant decrease by 0.725 million MT or 30 percent, the past and present administrations did nothing to adopt the smart policy on reducing fishing effort combined with provision for alternative livelihood which is the effective way of rebuilding fish stock.
4) On the other hand, China and Vietnam have undertaken sustainable fisheries management of their respective coastal waters or EEZ. In fact, China has reduced its total allowable catch to below the maximum sustainable yield and reduced the number of fishing vessels to the desired level; while Vietnam, whose fish catch continues to increase gradually, has planned to further reduce the number of fishers and fishing vessels. Both countries have produced more fish in aquaculture than in fish capture.
5) Ironically, while China and Vietnam are promoting sustainable fisheries in their coastal waters, they allow their fishers to conduct fishing operations in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough/Panatag shoal) and Kalayaan Island Group (KIG or Spratly Islands) wherein the Filipino fishers are barred by China’s coast guard to freely catch fish therein.
Finally, it stated, “It’s no surprise that Filipino fishermen can’t even fish in our waters. For far too long, security and trade concerns have predominantly discussed over the SCS, overlooking the more fundamental problem of food security for China and other claimant countries.”
As early as 2017, there was an attempt to address the above concern. A group of geopolitical strategists as well as marine biologists had called the disputing parties to manage and protect the SCS fish stocks and marine environment. It was noted, however, that effective management would hinge on China’s active participation.
