SENATOR Miriam Defensor Santiago has filed a resolution seeking to investigate report that overfishing is practiced in 75 percent of the Philippines' fishing grounds.
The senator said that despite the developments in fisheries enforcement, overfishing is compounded by unregulated fishing among multi-million fishing companies.
While the total catch at the national level remains stable, she said it is only maintained temporarily because of fishers who move from one area to another.
“Congress, together with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and other concerned agencies, must create a task force that will ensure the stringent implementation of the amended fisheries code to regulate fishing and protect the country’s marine resources,” Santiago said.
Santiago, in a separate resolution, is also seeking to look into report that the supply of fish is dwindling in the two provinces in the newly-established Negros Island region, as well as all over the country.
Based on a study conducted by a researcher from the University of the Philippines Diliman, the dwindling of marine resources threatens the livelihood of 60 percent of the entire population dependent on fisheries.
BFAR said in its 2013 annual report that the tuna population has dwindled in such an alarming rate that it had to implement closed season for the fish species in the waters of Zamboanga Peninsula on December 1, 2011 to March 1, 2012 and in the Visayas and its surrounding waters on November 15, 2012 to March 15, 2013.
“The government should protect the quality of marine life, especially those harnessed as food source. The Congress, through relevant legislation, should ensure protection of the marine environment. In the exercise of its oversight function, the Congress should monitor the implementation of existing environmental laws,” Santiago said. (Sunnex)