According to a group of fishermen domestic fishing sector will face deficit as there will be huge losses due to overfishing and unsustainable practices that are beginning to push local fisheries to the verge of resource collapse. The Kilusang Mangingisda, a national coalition of 14 fishermens federations, informed that the nation’s fisheries production could not keep up with further increases in the demand for food fish due to a growing Philippine population and the situation would get worse.
Ruperto Aleroza, chairperson of Kilusang Mangingisda, cited data from the
Comprehensive National Fishery Industry Development Plan (CNFIDP), which showed an expected increase in the demand for food fish from 2.6 million metric tons (mt) in 2005 to 4.2 million mt by 2025. Based on this the food-fish deficit of 205,159 mt in 2005 would increase to 585,000 mt in 2025, averaging in a yearly deficit of 403,000 mt.
Aleroza added that the deficit is primarily due to over fishing which has gone unchecked since the 1970s. He said that the local fisheries are on the verge of collapse now as the average fish catch has declined remarkably. Aleroza said that the aquaculture of the country remains unregulated and saddled with unsustainable practices. All these added to the woes of fish life and continue to cause fish kills.
According to the Kilusang Mangingisda the governments’ market-driven policies in fisheries production are responsible for the neglect of fisheries and aquaculture management. The group also blamed the government for the lack of support for municipal fishers, despite the fact that they make up about 90 percent of the fisheries labor force and contribute a third of total fisheries production.
