Philippines Fisheries Regulations
A Role Model for the World

The Philippine government's Department of Agriculture has announced a one year moratorium on the issuing of new licenses for fishing vessels, in an attempt to comply with the FAO's International Plan of Action for the management of fishing capacity.

The moratorium on new vessels and gear will give authorities time to assess the stocks and habitat health of fisheries in the Philippines, and at the same time, an effort to conduct an inventory of fishing capacity will be made through a registration of all vessels and major gear. Registration of all currently licensed vessels and gear will be conducted up through October 29, and on October 30th, the one-year moratorium shall begin. No unregistered vessels shall be allowed to fish. No new vessels may be licensed during the one-year moratorium.

This action is in response to a reported decline in tuna resources in recent years. The Government of the Philippines is working in cooperation with the wider tuna industry and with the United Nations FAO, to assess and conserve all fishery resources, with the focus being on tuna. The national tuna industry supports this move. We are reminded of the sacrifices endured by Japan in support of its own tuna resources, when it mothballed a significant percentage of its own tuna fleet, after determining that national tuna fishing capacity was inappropriate to the condition of the resource.

These efforts by the Department of Agriculture in the Philippines may not result in such drastic measures, but they are a courageous and appropriate start to assess the condition of the nation's fishery.

Congratulations and best wishes to the fishermen of the Philippines, as they embark upon this period of voluntary cessation of growth of their fishing capacity. They are enhancing the future sustainability of all their fishery resources through this economically and politically difficult measure.