Legarda urges protection of artisanal fishers in 15-km municipal water zones

Senator Loren Legarda called for the protection and empowerment of small-scale fishers, emphasizing the urgent need to uphold their rights, livelihoods, and the safeguarding of the country’s marine resources amid growing concerns over the possible entry of commercial fishing into the 15-km municipal water zones traditionally reserved for artisanal fishers.

“No less than the 1987 Constitution guarantees the protection of the rights of subsistence fisherfolk, especially of local communities, to the preferential use of communal marine and fishing resources,” Legarda stated. “This is not merely a question of access, it is about justice and survival. When we strip away these rights, it says that those with the least can be sacrificed. It replaces community with competition, equity with exclusion.”

Her statement follows a resolution by the Supreme Court First Division on the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources v. Mercidar Fishing Corporation in G.R. No. 270929, which has sparked national discourse over the legality of commercial fishing operations within municipal waters. On 2 January 2025, the Department of Agriculture–Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR), through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), filed a motion for reconsideration seeking to overturn the decision.

Legarda, a four-term Senator and staunch environmental advocate, warned that allowing commercial vessels to operate in these nearshore zones would undermine the very communities the law is intended to protect. “Our artisanal fishers cannot match the financial capital or technological muscle of industrial fleets. What they depend on is our commitment to fairness, to purposeful laws, and to a vision of national development that includes them,” Legarda added.

Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Legarda points to the stark vulnerability of Filipino fisherfolk, who remain among the poorest in the country, recording the second-highest poverty incidence at 27.4%. PSA reports also indicated a 5% drop in overall fisheries output in 2024, marking the lowest in two decades. Legarda warned that this decline could be further exacerbated by such a move, especially in areas already under strain from overfishing, habitat degradation, pollution, and climate change.

According to Oceana, the world’s largest international advocacy organization focused solely on ocean conservation, marine municipal fisheries production fell by 8.8% from 2023 to 2024, shrinking from 879.96 to 802.77 thousand metric tons. In contrast, commercial fisheries production increased by 4.2% in the same period, now accounting for 21.2% of total fisheries production, while small-scale fishers contributed 19.8%.

Data from the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) also suggests that the ruling could render 277,732.39 square kilometers, or 90% of municipal waters, open to commercial fishing vessels. These nearshore areas are among the most biologically productive zones in the country, encompassing ecologically vital ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral reefs, serving as critical breeding and nursery grounds for fish and other marine species.

“Undermining preferential rights of our small-scale fishers endangers not just food security and household incomes, but also the decades of community-based coastal management efforts and traditional stewardship systems. Increased commercial activity increases exposure to climate-related hazards, weakens local adaptive capacities, and places greater strain on national disaster response systems,” Legarda added.

Senator Legarda is the author of RA No. 10654, which seeks to prevent illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and is the principal author and sponsor of the proposed Blue Economy bill, which institutionalizes integrated, inclusive, and science-based management of our marine resources. (30)