FIle photo/THEPHILBIZNEWS/MEV
An umbrella group or coalition of small-scale artisanal fishers’ federations called KKAMPI or Katipunan ng mga Kilusan ng Artisanong Mangingisda sa Pilipinas, staged a. coordinated action today to highlight neglect of the sector despite the recent recognition of the United Nations of the importance of artisanal fisheries and aquaculture.
Fisherfolk from different regions nationwide staged fluvial parades and programs in their communities to explain to fellow fishers and the public, the rights of small-scale fishers, and the importance of a concerted action towards protection and preservation of local fishery resources towards food security and sustainable livelihood.
KKAMPi cited the coming 2022 as the first International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022), declared during the 72nd Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations; led by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), in collaboration with other relevant organizations and bodies of the United Nations system.
IYAFA 2022 aims to sensitize public opinion and governments on the importance of adopting specific public policies and programs to enable them to operate in a sustainable manner. It further aims to enhance global awareness and public understanding of small scale artisanal fisheries and aquaculture to support action in relation to food security and nutrition, poverty eradication and the sustainable use of natural resources.
KKAMPi added that IYAFA 2022 aims for the recognition of small-scale artisanal fisheries and aquaculture as a sustainable method of food production that is imperative as current food systems face increasing challenges globally. Such challenges include hunger and diet-related diseases, the need to provide a growing global population with sufficient and healthy food, vast amounts of food loss and waste, the depletion of natural resources, nenvironmental degradation, and climate change.
KKAMPi further explained that the Philippines’ small-scale artisanal fisheries produce more than half of the country’s protein. The small-scale fishing operations, which include fishing in coastal and inland waters using small fishing boats (<3GT) and using various gears. The sector contributes more than 50% of fisheries landings, with national statistics suggesting annual catches of 1,1 Million metric tons (mt) in 2018, compared to the commercial fishing operation contribution of 950,00 mt. However, small-scale fisheries are often undervalued, with some estimates suggest underreporting of up to 70-percent.
2018 data indicates a total of 258,956 registered municipal small-scale fishing vessels in the country with at least 1,364,319 registered fisherfolk —the majority of whom have no catch documentation and monitoring system.
In addition, artisanal fisheries is constantly facing challenges from perennial issues on resource degradation, overfishing, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUUF), and the changing climate, among others.
Illegal fishing also has a significant toll on the lives and livelihoods of fishers. In the Philippines alone, around 27 to 40 percent of fish caught in 2019, which amounted to approximately US$1.3 billion, came from illegal fishing. IUUF is a constant threat to the sustainability of fisheries resources and is a critical issue in the country, as it undermines
the efforts being made to improve the management of our fisheries resources.
Estimates of the Philippines’ losses from IUUF and post-harvest losses set back the country’s economy by about US$101.8 billion or nearly P5 trillion every year. This includes US$99.2 billion losses due to blast fishing, US$189 million due to overfishing, US$1.2 billion due to poaching, and US$1.14 billion to post-harvest losses. According to
USAID estimates, this is enough to feed approximately 281 million Filipinos for an entire year.
The situation of small-scale artisanal fishers in the country is further exacerbated by Chinese fishing vessels within the Philippine waters. Without the necessary constant support at the national level, IUUF cases are often overlooked after the violators are apprehended and can make the payments on penalties. Repeat offenders are often not being tracked, especially if they are encroaching in different areas.
The Philippines Fisheries Code of 1998 (Republic Act 8550) and amended by the Republic Act 10654 with the inclusion of the IUUF policies, among others, is the governing policy of the country for its fisheries and provides for the small-scale or municipal fishers’ preferential rights over municipal waters under the jurisdiction of local government units covering an area of 15 kilometers seaward parallel to the general coastline of each coastal municipality. However, this does not ring true for small fishers due to the presence or encroachment of small-to-medium commercial fishers in municipal waters, most of which are without a license to operate within the 15-km coastal waters often becomes a battle between smaller groups of fishers and sizeable commercial fishing
operations with a much higher capacity for lobbying and has established connections with political personalities.
The amended Philippine Fisheries Code or Republic Act 10654 also mandates new technologies and standards (e.g., electronic municipal catch documentation and traceability system and vessel monitoring system) to provide an opportunity for reform. However, the lack of support from and implementation of these new standards from
small-scale fisherfolk, local and national government, is hampering implementation. Aside from the threat to livelihood and fishery resources, artisanal fishers also face the threat to their homes and fishing grounds. There are about 25 projects that aims to reclaim more than about 28,976.3 hectares of land in Manila Bay, according to Pablo Rosales of Pagkakaisa ng mga Alyansa ng mga Mangingisda sa Pilipinas (PANGISDA-Pilipinas).
The linked reclamation projects by private corporations at Manila Bay, which stretches from Bulacan Province, to Metro Manila, and Cavite, will have an impact on its almost 14-million coastal population.
It is for these reasons that several federations of artisanal fishers in the country have come together to unite under an umbrella group, the coalition of small-scale artisanal fishers’ federations called KKAMPi or Katipunan ng mga Kilusan ng Artisanong Mangingisda sa Pilipinas.
Ruperto Aleroza, the National Chairperson of Pambansang Katipunan ng mga Samahan sa Kanayunan (PKSK), said that KKAMPi’s coordinated joint actions of its affiliated groups in different coastal areas of the country, hope to create a public discussion on fisheries concerns and advance the fisheries development and policy agenda of small- scale men and women fishers.
Roberto Ballon of the Coalition of Municipal Fisherfolk Federation of Zamboanga Sibugay (COMFAS) added, that the coming together of artisanal fishers and organizing a National Fishers Alliance like KKAMPi creates a stronger and strengthened small scale artisanal fisheries sector with greater impact to effect changes towards securing our lives and livelihood and ultimately contributing to a more balanced program of the government that begins to address the social justice issues and inequities within the fisheries sector, and improve the overall policy environment favorable to Artisanal Fishers in the Philippines.