It's About Time We Secure Our Small-Scale Fishers' Rights and Resources
Safeguard Local Fishermen Within 15-Kilometer Municipal Water territories on Our Platform
By Sen. Loren Legarda, 2025
The survival of small-scale fishers is hanging by a thread. It's vital to safeguard their rights and livelihoods in the face of concerns about commercial fishing encroaching into the 15-km coastal zones historically managed by these artisanal fishers.
Our nation's Constitution—plain and simple—should guarantee the protection of subsistence fisherfolk's rights and their entitled use of communal marine resources, considering the appalling living conditions they endure. It's more than just about access; it's about justice and surviving in this world. Every time we rob them of these rights, we say the least among us can be sacrificed, and community is replaced with competition, fairness with exclusion.
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Following a 2025 Supreme Court First Division ruling on Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources v. Mercidar Fishing Corp. (G.R. No. 270929), we're now embroiled in a national debate about the legality of commercial fishing in municipal waters. On January 2, 2025, the Department of Agriculture (DA)-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), through the Office of the Solicitor General, submitted a motion for reconsideration to counter said decision.
Think about it. Introducing commercial vessels in these nearshore areas would be catastrophic for small-scale fishers. They can't compete against the industrial fleets' financial clout or technological superiority. What they need is our fairness, our rule-abiding attitudes, and our vision of development that includes them.
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Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) figures reveal the heartbreaking fragility of local fisherfolk, who consistently rank among the poorest in the nation, with a poverty incidence of 27.4%. PSA reports also indicate a 5% decrease in overall fisheries output in 2024, marking the lowest in two decades. This drop could worsen with this move, especially in regions already battling overfishing, habitat degradation, pollution, and climate change.
According to Oceana, the world's most renowned marine conservation organization, local fisheries production plummeted by 8.8%, going from 879.96 to 802.77 thousand metric tons between 2023 and 2024. In contrast, commercial fisheries production grew 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 General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans suggests this ruling could expose 277,732.39 square kilometers—90% of municipal waters—to commercial fishing, encapsulating ecologically vital ecosystems like mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral reefs, serving as breeding and nursery grounds for fish and various marine species.
Overriding small-scale fishers' preferential rights endangers not just food security and family incomes but also years of coastal management efforts and traditional stewardship systems. Increased commercial activity invites climate-related risks, weakens local adaptive capacities, and strains national disaster response systems.
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Under the guise of modernization, we risk auctioning off our small-scale fishers' very existence. Let's reconsider what we're really after: progress that is inclusive, equitable, and sustainable for every Filipino.
- The Senator's call to secure small-scale fishers' rights and resources is a significant step in the ongoing policy-and-legislation discourse surrounding the dispute over commercial fishing in municipal waters.
- The ongoing national debate about commercial fishing in municipal waters, sparked by a Supreme Court decision in 2025, highlights the need for policies that empower our small-scale fishers and render justice to their struggles.
- The livelihoods of small-scale fishers are under threat, with commercialization of fisheries potentially causing further climate change impacts and exacerbating overfishing, habitat degradation, pollution, and other environmental challenges.
- A climate change-focused culture that prioritizes empowerment, sustainability, and community-centered development is crucial for protecting subsistence fisherfolk and ensuring the long-term resilience of municipal fish resources.
- As Philippines ranks among the lowest in fisheries output and many local fisherfolk live in appalling conditions, it's essential to address climate change concerns, promote climate justice, and reaffirm the importance of coastal management efforts for the well-being of our fisheries and the general news landscape.
