The United States will be providing the Philippines $7.5 million in assistance to help the country in countering illegal, unregulated, unreported and unsustainable fishing.

This came as US Vice President Kamala Harris visited the fishing village of Tagburos in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, where she talked with local fishers about the impacts of such activities on their economy and on the marine ecosystem.

According to a White House official, the amount will be given to the Philippine maritime law enforcement agencies not only to increase their capacity and capabilities to counter such activities, but also to "improve maritime domain awareness, and provide search and rescue support."

"Unsustainable fishing practices perpetuate a cycle of poverty and natural resource depletion," another White House official said.

The program would be done through the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

"USAID will support Tagburos through a multifaceted set of resilience interventions that includes IUU assessment and risk reduction planning, ensuring resilience of fish stocks, systematic marine protected area network designing, and improving fish catch through appropriate harvest controls," the official said.

The program will also boost the community’s resilience by putting in place safety nets in fishing communities.

These included improving fishers' financial literacy; establishing market linkages between fishers and government agencies, academic institutions and private sector; setting up community savings associations, and developing micro enterprises to lessen their dependence on marine resources.

"The program pays special focus on women's inclusion and empowerment so they are able to play a significant role in managing marine resources sustainably," the official added.

Other initiatives launched in the island province during Harris' visit were the expansion of the Philippine Coast Guard's vessel traffic management system.

Through that, the agency will be led "to better maritime safety," the fact sheet provided by the White House read.

Following the Vice President's trip, the Philippines will also start receiving near-real-time data under the Quad's Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness initiative.

"This initiative uses commercial space-based platforms to deliver a common operating picture of waterways to promote transparency and to detect and counter illicit activities," it said.