FILIPINO fishermen can now resume supplying fish products to Europe following the lifting of the “yellow tag” imposed by the European Union.
Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food chairperson Cynthia Villar said this is a welcome development because it would ensure the sustainability of the income of our fishermen.
The yellow tag was imposed in June last year on the Philippines for its failure to address illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUUF). A similar ban had been declared against Belize, Guinea, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka.
Villar said the ban put to risk the fisheries sector which provides direct and indirect employment to over one million people.
The senator added that the ban was so serious that it could lead to trade sanctions against the Philippines.
Consequently, the committee amended the 16-year-old Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, ensuring that the management of fishery and aquatic resources is anchored on an eco-system based approach.
The committee also said the law against illegal fishing was strengthened by the passage of Republic Act 10654 or the Fisheries Reform law, which ensures the traceability of all the catch of Philippine-flagged fishing vessels through a monitoring, control and surveillance system.
On April 21 this year, the EU announced that the Philippines, along with Korea, have succeeded in instituting reforms in its policies to adequately address illegal fishing.
“We are confident that with this law, we will be able to strike a balance between the requirements for increased production to contribute to food security and the need to conserve and protect our resources for long-term sustainability,” Villar said.
She also urged the active participation of all fisheries sector stakeholders, civil society, government, and the academe for the crafting of the law’s implementing rules and regulations.