Closed fishing season may trigger price hike, supply issues – Pamalakaya

MANILA, Philippines—The upcoming closed fishing season in major fishing grounds across the country could trigger an artificial shortage of fish and drive up market prices, the fishers’ group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) warned.

In a statement, Pamalakaya said the annual three-month fishing ban, scheduled across several fishing grounds between November and February next year, could disrupt local fish production and supply while cutting the income of affected fishing communities.

The closures cover major fishing grounds, including the Visayan Sea, Zamboanga Peninsula, Palawan, Balayan Bay in Batangas and Tayabas Bay in Quezon.

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READ: ‘Tamban’ closed fishing season in Tayabas Bay begins

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The group said the effects could extend from the earnings of small-scale fishers to the availability and prices of fish in local markets.

“Magkakarugtong ang epekto ng taunang closed fishing season – mula sa kikitain ng mga apektadong mangingisda, produksyon at supply ng isda, hanggang presyo nito sa palengke. Kapwa ang mga mangingisda at ordinaryong mamimili ang nagdurusa sa panahon na isinasailalim ang mga mayor na pangisdaan sa closed season,” Pamalakaya national chairperson Fernando Hicap said.

(The effects of the annual closed fishing season are interconnected — from the earnings of affected fishers to fish production and supply, and eventually to market prices. Both fishers and ordinary consumers suffer when major fishing grounds are placed under a closed season.)

Pamalakaya clarified that it was not entirely opposed to the fishing restrictions, which are intended to give depleted fishing grounds time to recover. 

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However, it called for small-scale fishers who practice sustainable fishing to be exempted, arguing that they should not be made to bear the same restrictions as operators engaged in large-scale and destructive fishing.

“Kinikilala namin na may pangangailangang ipreserba ang ilang pook-pangisdaan na nasasaid dahil sa mga malakihan at mapanirang porma ng pangingisda. Pero hindi dapat kasama rito ang mga maliliit na mangingisda na nananatiling atrasado ang kagamitan at maliitan ang produksyon,” Hicap said.

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(We recognize the need to preserve fishing grounds that have been depleted by large-scale and destructive fishing practices. However, small-scale fishers, whose equipment remains underdeveloped and whose production is limited, should not be included in these restrictions.)

“Dapat ang mga programa para sa konserbasyon ay nagsisilbi rin sa proteksyon ng kabuhayan ng maliliit na mangingisda, at may kaakibat na solusyon sa magiging epekto nito sa supply at presyo ng isda. Higit sa lahat, dapat tiyaking hindi humantong ito sa pag-aangkat ng isda na higit na magpapabagsak sa lokal na produksyon,” he added. 

(Conservation programs should also protect the livelihoods of small-scale fishers and include solutions to address their effects on fish supply and prices. Above all, it must be ensured that these measures do not lead to fish imports that would further undermine local production.)

READ: BFAR gears up for sardine fishing ban in northeastern Mindanao

The closed season prohibits the catching of galunggong, tamban, herring and other pelagic fish, which Pamalakaya identified as the primary catch of small-scale fishers in the affected fishing grounds.

In the Visayan Sea alone, the fishing ban will cover five provinces and 33 coastal municipalities across Regions V, VI and VII, the group said.

Pamalakaya said the annual closures of major fishing grounds are provided for under Section 9, Chapter II of Republic Act No. 8550, or the Fisheries Code of 1998, ostensibly for conservation and ecological purposes.

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The group called for conservation measures to be accompanied by safeguards for small-scale fishing communities and measures to prevent disruptions in local fish supply and further pressure on market prices. /gsg