Local fisheries stakeholders have differing views on Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) 266 series of 2020 requiring all commercial fishing operators to install a vessel monitoring system for their tracking and to report their catch.
An industry leader, in a statement, warned the cost of fish could soar to “astronomical” levels if the policy is implemented, despite being declared null and void by a trial court for being unconstitutional and its implementation was suspended by the Office of the President pending decision by the Supreme Court on its constitutionality.
Roderic Santos, Inter-Island and Deep Sea Fishing Association director, said if implemented, the policy will have dire consequences especially on government efforts to achieve food security in the country as consumers will be exposed to price shocks.
“Relatively, the entire local fishing industry is against FAO 266. No commercial fishing vessel will continue to operate if this unconstitutional regulatory measure is enforced… It will see many, if not all, commercial fishers not going to the sea and this will mean a shortage of fish… A shortage of fish will, of course, cause an increase in prices,” Santos said.
Santos echoed the sentiments of the Alliance of Philippine Fishing Federations Inc. (APFFI), the umbrella organization of various commercial fishing associations nationwide.
In its letter to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who also heads the Department of Agriculture (DA), APFFI pointed out FAO 266 could “wipe out the commercial fishing industry affecting food security as well as employment.”
In June 2021, the Malabon City Regional Trial Court Branch 170 issued a permanent injunction against the implementation of FAO 266, declaring it as null and void for being unconstitutional.
The petitioners had argued FAO 266 violates their constitutional rights to privacy and against unlawful searches, apart from also violating the equal protection clause and the law it seeks to implement.
Petitioners asserted that information to be recorded and reported via Electronic Reporting System, like position of the vessel where the fish was caught, date and time and vessel activity, are sensitive information and part of their trade secrets and proprietary information.
Last March, the Office of the President also issued a memorandum directing the DA and the on the implementation of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to hold in abeyance the implementation of FAO 266 nationwide pending the final resolution over its constitutionality by the Supreme Court.
However, some groups fear it may jeopardize recent inroads that have been made to comply with international best practices on transparency and the sustainability of seafood exports to the European Union (EU).
The Philippines Tuna Handline Partnership (PTHP), composed of the Gulf of Lagonoy Tuna Fishers Federation Inc., Occidental Mindoro Federation of Tuna Fishers Association, and the Philippine Association of Tuna Processors Inc., said implementing FAO 266 is crucial to maintain its Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, which it was recently awarded after a decade of initiatives to ensure that its operations adhere to international best practices.
“Ours are the first ever fisheries in the Philippines to be certified under the MSC standard, an achievement that is in line with President Marcos’ goal of bringing prosperity and self-sufficiency to our nation. We are worried that the suspension of vessel monitoring measures to ensure transparency in fisheries will put our tuna exports at risk,” said Atenogenes Reaso, a representative of the Federation of Tuna Fishers, in a separate statement.
“We are continuously trying our best to comply with international standards of transparency and sustainable fishing practices to ensure that small-scale tuna fisherfolk can sustain the breakthrough we have achieved in reaching international export markets,” Reaso added.
PTHP said it secured the MSC ecolabel in October 2021 that signals to consumers that the fish they are purchasing has been sourced sustainably.
Jinky Rabano from Jarla Trading and the Philippine Association of Tuna Processors said the government agency must intervene to keep the country from being issued a red card by the EU.
In 2014, the EU issued a yellow card on Philippine fishery exports which threatened to bar the country from exporting to markets in Europe. Amendments to the Fisheries Code of the Philippines were made to address this which led to the implementation of mandatory vessel monitoring measures.
Its effects will be drastic as the EU is the Philippines’ top export market and is the destination for 21 percent of total fisheries exports, the group added.
