MANILA — Fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) held a protest in front of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) on Monday, Feb. 24, to demand significant reforms on the law governing fisheries amid the legal battle over the municipal waters.

The group asserts that the Fisheries Code of 1988 and its amendments fail to uphold the exclusive rights of small fishers to fishing grounds, particularly within the 15-kilometer municipal waters. They said that while the Fisheries Code designates the municipal waters to small fishers, commercial fishing vessels are permitted to operate within the municipal waters with depth reaching seven fathoms and above, as stated in the Article I, Section 18 of the law.

Read: Why fishers are against the SC ruling allowing commercial fishing within municipal waters

In fact, the group said, the Fisheries Code  has “paved the way” for the recent Supreme Court ruling to completely allow commercial fishing vessels within the municipal waters.

Vincent Fernandez, fisherfolk leader from Negros Occidental, said that even before the court’s decision in favor of commercial fishing, large fishing vessels have already spread across the municipal fishing waters in their province.

“This is proof of the failure of the Fisheries Code to protect the exclusive rights of small-scale fishermen,” Fernandez said in a statement. (Contributed photos) (RTS)

Photos Courtesy of Pamalakaya