Legarda files bill to strengthen monitoring of fishing vessels

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Loren Legarda has filed Senate Bill No. 2521, or the proposed Fisheries Vessel Monitoring Act, to strengthen the monitoring of fishing vessels, combat illegal fishing and protect the livelihoods of small-scale fishers.

The measure seeks to establish an electronic vessel monitoring framework to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and along its 36,289-kilometer coastline.

“Our oceans are extremely important, as they are rich in resources that sustain our country. They also provide a livelihood for our small-scale fishers and coastal communities. We will not allow those who exploit our seas to continue destroying marine resources that should belong to the Filipino people,” Legarda said.

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The bill was filed as senators raised concerns about commercial fishing vessels entering municipal waters and the legal basis for vessel monitoring.

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In a privilege speech earlier that day, Sen. Raffy Tulfo highlighted the plight of municipal fishers and the continued entry of commercial vessels into municipal waters. He also expressed support for Senate Bill No. 2521 and legislation seeking to uphold the preferential rights of municipal fishers and reserve municipal waters within 15 kilometers of the coastline for their exclusive use.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan also cited a recent Supreme Court ruling on vessel monitoring as a national concern requiring legislative action.

Legarda thanked Tulfo and Pangilinan for raising the concerns in the Senate.

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“I would like to thank my fellow senators, Sen. Raffy Tulfo and Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, for championing the welfare of our fishers in the Senate today,” she said.

“Your support is an important step because we need to work together on this. However, much more needs to be done to fully protect our waters, and this bill will address those gaps.”

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The bill seeks to strengthen the legal basis for monitoring commercial fishing vessels and provide the government with additional enforcement tools.

According to marine conservation group Oceana Philippines, vessel monitoring is essential to protecting municipal waters within 15 kilometers of the coastline. The group has argued that tracking commercial fishing fleets helps protect small-scale fishers’ livelihoods, preserve coastal marine habitats and enable enforcement agencies to respond quickly to illegal fishing.

“Along with this, we must defend the rights of our small-scale fishers and ensure that municipal waters extending 15 kilometers from the coastline are truly reserved for their exclusive use,” Legarda said. “We want to protect our local fishers and the environment.”

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The filing of Senate Bill No. 2521 follows a January 2026 Supreme Court en banc decision that declared Fisheries Administrative Order No. 266 unconstitutional for lacking a clear statutory basis, according to the press release.

The bill seeks to address the legal gap by amending Republic Act No. 8550, or the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, to explicitly authorize the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to require electronic vessel monitoring systems.

It would require monitoring of both fishing vessels and carrier vessels, which transport catches, to ensure traceability and prevent illegal catches from being transferred at sea without detection.

The proposed measure would establish a risk-based tracking framework for commercial, distant-water and carrier vessels while allowing local government units to adopt appropriate monitoring rules for municipal fishing boats.

It would also establish data privacy safeguards to protect vessel locations and movements as sensitive technical information and prevent their unauthorized disclosure or use to provide commercial advantages to private parties.

The bill would also make company directors, managers and controlling owners personally and criminally liable if they direct or tolerate repeated efforts to evade vessel monitoring requirements.

Addressing concerns from the commercial fishing sector, Legarda said the measure would not simply reinstate the 24-hour monitoring regime struck down by the Supreme Court. Instead, reporting requirements would be proportionate to the area, risks and enforcement needs involved.

Vessel location and movement data would remain protected as sensitive technical information and could not be improperly disclosed or used to give private parties a commercial advantage.

“We recognize and respect the enterprise of our commercial fishing sector. The government should not interfere with legitimate business strategies or expose sensitive commercial information,” Legarda said.

“But confidentiality cannot become a shield against lawful monitoring and enforcement. We need a system that protects commercial information while still allowing government to detect illegal fishing, protect municipal waters, and defend the rights and livelihoods of municipal fisherfolk.”

Legarda said electronic vessel monitoring was an established international practice for sustainable marine conservation. She cited the use of such systems by the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the European Union and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization to monitor compliance and combat IUU fishing.

“We must act now to safeguard our waters. This bill is about tracking our commitment to our marine environment, to our food security, and to the millions of Filipinos who depend on the sea,” she said.

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Legarda called for the immediate passage of Senate Bill No. 2521 to promote the sustainable management and conservation of Philippine waters.