The Supreme Court has been asked to compel the national government to promulgate rules on vessel monitoring measures covering commercial fishing vessels with gross tonnage of 3.1 to 30.
In a petition, the local unit of international ocean conservation group Oceana urged the SC to issue a writ of continuing mandamus to the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
Oceana Philippines, together with municipal fisherfolk Arnulfo Febria, Edgardo Leongson, and Bernardo Rondon Jr. appealed to SC justices to issue a temporary environmental protection order stopping the DA-BFAR from issuing new licenses or renewal of commercial fishing vessels weighing 3.1 to 30 gross tons while their petition is pending resolution.
The petitioners argued that the Fisheries Administrative Order that the DA-BFAR signed last Oct. 5 does not meet the requirement of the Fisheries Code on the promulgation of rules governing the monitoring of commercial fishing vessels.
“It only covers vessels targeting highly migratory and straddling fish stocks. It excludes from its coverage commercial fishing vessels that weight 3.1 to less than 30 gross tons and commonly found illegally encroaching on municipal waters,” Oceana said in a statement.
“This regulation only sows confusion as it narrows down the type of vessels covered by the vessel monitoring requirement,” the group lamented.
Citing Republic Act No. 10654, the petitioners said that all commercial fishing vessels are covered by the monitoring requirement and that it is illegal for any catcher vessel to operate without the measures the DA-BFAR is required to make.
“Illegal commercial fishing within municipal waters continues to compete unfairly and illegally with our artisanal fisherfolks and compounds the overfishing,” Oceana said.
According to the petitioners, the DA-BFAR’s alleged failure to comply with the law has “adversely affected the country’s marine resources, fisheries, and the livelihood of artisanal fisherfolk.”
Named respondents in the petition were Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol and BFAR national director Eduardo Gongona.
“Today marks a big milestone in our collective efforts to help implement the ban on commercial fishing in our municipal waters including marine protected areas,” Oceana said.
“Encroachment by commercial fishers in municipal waters has been going on since forever, despite being declared illegal under our law, contributing significantly to overfishing in 2/3 of our principal fishing grounds,” the petitioners pointed out.