“Every local government executive who gives premium to fishery resources and fisherfolk welfare is worth emulating and serves as a role model for good environmental governance.”
This was the statement of the international non-government organization, Oceana, as local chief executives in different coastal municipalities showed laudable actions to protect the oceans and serve fisherfolks, amidst tremendous challenges posed by the COVID19 pandemic.
Fish harvested by fisherfolk in San Ricardo, Southern Leyte and bangus in fish farms in Alaminos, Pangasinan were paid for and distributed by local governments as relief goods to constituents while fishers received cash assistance in Samar.
As founding members of the Northern Cebu Alliance of Municipalities composed of Sta. Fe, San Remigio, Bantayan, and Medellin, Mayors Ithamar Espinosa of Sta. Fe and Arthur Despi of Bantayan, Cebu supported their respective Bantay Dagat teams to cross borders and enforce fishery laws in their contiguous municipal water jurisdictions, which resulted to successful enforcement operations.
With the aid of the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Region VII Fishery Protection and Law Enforcement Group, they apprehended on April 13 a commercial fishing boat operating illegally inside Bantayan waters.
In a Memorandum of Understanding that the mayors of the Northern Cebu Alliance of Municipalities signed recently, they vowed to protect their municipal waters from commercial fishing vessels’ encroachment.
Oceana also cited San Ricardo, Southern Leyte Mayor Roy Salinas, and Alaminos, Pangasinan Mayor Arth Bryan C. Celeste for their efforts to help local fishers earn money from their production.
“We are happy that coastal mayors are stepping up to the challenge despite the fact that most of them belong to low-income class municipalities” said Andrea Loriaga, Executive Director of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP). “We will encourage all other coastal mayors to share with us their good environmental practices,” she added.
“Fish is a staple food and source of nutrition for the majority of Filipinos who are mostly living in coastal cities and municipalities. We also have millions of small, artisanal fisherfolk and fish workers who depend on fishing for their livelihood. It will be a win-win solution for all of our local governments to continue to prioritize and extend their support and resources to help our artisanal fishers, and collaborate closely with national agencies and stakeholders,” Oceana Vice President Gloria Estenzo Ramos, added.
Since 2014, Oceana has been working closely with national and local government agencies, civil society, fisherfolk, and other stakeholders to restore the abundance of Philippine fisheries and marine resources.
