Fisherfolk poverty to worsen if big fishers enter municipal waters

Non-government organizations assailed the Supreme Court's decision to uphold a Malabon Regional Trial Court ruling of allowing commercial fishers within the 15-kilometer municipal waters as it would accelerate depletion of fish stocks at the expense of small fishers.

- - Jasper Emmanuel Arcalas

International marine protection group, Oceana and Pangisda Pilipinas condemned the ruling of the High Tribunal's First Division, upholding the Malabon Regional Trial Court's decision on the petition of Mercidar Fishing Corp. to declare the preferential access of municipal fisherfolk to 15-km municipal water unconstitutional, among others.

"This resolution will create confusion among enforcement agencies including our coastal cities and municipalities which are already hard-pressed with enforcement and performing their mandate of protecting municipal waters and the livelihoods of their constituents amid meager funds," said Gloria Estenzo Ramos, Oceana vice president.

"This sends a wrong signal to the industry to continue the overexploitation of our dwindling fish stocks, despite science backing it up," Ramos said.