Makabayan solons file bill to secure 15km waters for small fishermen

To help small municipal fishermen against more sophisticated commercial fishing boat, the Makabayan bloc of lawmakers have filed the Atin ang Kinse Kilometro bill.

Called Atin ang Kinse Kilometro (15 Kilometers is Ours), the bill seeks to “uphold sustainable fishing practices over destructive and environmentally harmful commercial fishing operations.”

The Makabayan solons who filed the bill are Kabataan Representative Renee Co, Gabriela Representative Sarah Elago, and ACT Teachers Representative Antonio Tinio.

Under the law, small fishers have preferential rights over municipal waters. 

Local governments have the power to say otherwise and allow commercial fishers in municipal waters. Recent developments in the courts allowing a commercial fisher to fish within the zone have threatened small fishers’ preferential rights.

Aside from exclusive rights, the bill seeks the prohibition of fishing gears and practices associated with large-scale operations such as purse seine, ring net, trawl fishing, muro ami, and modified Danish seine.

Local government units, in the bill, will maintain jurisdiction over municipal waters. Violators face a maximum penalty of imprisonment of up to six months and the revocation of fishing license.

Last July, Rappler reported that suspected commercial fishing intrusions within the 15-kilometer municipal water zone rose by 10.5% from 2023 to 2024, or from 28,822 in 2023 to 31,843 in 2024.

These incidents were mostly observed in hotspots, according to conservation group Oceana Philippines, such as Zamboanga City; Cuyo, Palawan; San Pascual, Masbate; Tongkil, Sulu; Languyan, Tawi-Tawi; Pagbilao, Quezon; and Carles, Iloilo.

The Karagatan Patrol platform, developed by Oceana Philippines, is used by local governments to monitor intrusions and protect the preferential right of small-scale fisherfolks over municipal waters.

“Our fishing communities, already among the country’s poorest, now face emptier seas and shrinking livelihoods due to rampant illegal commercial fishing,” Oceana active vice president Rose-Liza Eisma-Osorio said.

“Unless we act decisively to safeguard municipal waters and uphold the law, our dream of food-fish sufficiency will remain out of reach,” Osorio added.

A bigger problem is the 5% decline in total fisheries output in 2024 with marine fisheries down by 8.8% – from 879,960 metric tons (MT) in 2023 to 802,770 MT in 2024, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Commercial fisheries output increased by 4.2% in 2024, but volume of production remained lower compared to 2022 figures. According to the PSA, the 2024 fisheries output was the lowest on record since 2005.

Last July 8, Senator Kiko Pangilinan urged the Senate to investigate the impact of allowing commercial fishing companies to operate in municipal waters.

Policy adjustments that will come out after the Senate probe seek to “protect municipal waters, ensure the sustainable management of fisheries, and safeguard the rights and welfare of small-scale fishers,” the resolution read. 

Currently, only Mercidar Fishing Corporation is exempted and allowed by courts to fish within the zone.

Since the Supreme Court’s ruling came out, upholding the decision of a lower court, scientists and advocates have warned that if Mercidar’s case becomes status quo, only 2% of traditional fishing grounds will be left to small fishers, Rappler said.

In 2024, the Supreme Court First Division affirmed the 2023 ruling of the Malabon Regional Trial Court allowing Mercidar Fishing Corporation to fish within municipal waters.

Several LGUs asserted their authority over municipal waters and expressed support for the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in its motion for reconsideration before SC.

Concerned environmental and conservation groups have sought the Supreme Court’s permission to intervene in the case and be part of the litigation.