Amid reported annual losses averaging 45,472 metric tons in capture fisheries production since 2010, progressive fishers’ group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) warned the Department of Agriculture (DA) against pursuing fish importation.

The group cited a report by international conservation organization Oceana showing that capture fisheries production has steadily declined over the past decade.

“Agad kaming nagpapaalala sa DA na huwag gawing dahilan ang lumabas na ulat ng taunang pagbagsak ng produksyon ng isda para mag-angkat ng tone-tonelada, na higit na nagpapabagsak sa kabuhayan ng mga lokal na mangingisda (We are immediately reminding the DA not to use the reported annual decline in fish production as a pretext for importing tons of fish, which would further harm the livelihoods of local fishers),” Pamalakaya Chairperson Fernando Hicap said.

Pamalakaya said the fish catch decline is a result of “sheer neglect” of the government to the welfare of the fishing sector, particularly to the municipal fisheries subsector.

According to the fishers’ group, over 200,000 metric tons of fish, including galunggong (round scad) and other pelagic fishes, have been imported by the government since 2018, mostly from China, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

The importation led to a further decline in farmgate prices of fish for local fisherfolk, Pamalakaya said.

The group noted that the rampant commercial fishing vessels in the municipal waters, ongoing profit-driven projects that destroy marine and fishery resources, and the continued foreign intrusion and poaching in the territorial fishing waters, are among the factors of the declining capture fisheries production.

Hicap said these projects and activities have caused significant damage to fishing grounds and marine resources.

“Ito ang dapat na mapagpasya at konkretong inaaksyunan ng pamahalaan, imbes na mag-angkat ng tone-toneladang isda na higit na pumipinsala sa lokal na produksyon (This is what the government should decisively address and act on, instead of importing tons of fish that further harm local production),” he stressed.

Earlier, Pamalakaya warned that a recent court ruling allowing commercial fishing vessels to operate within the 15-kilometer municipal waters could further worsen the country’s declining municipal fisheries production.

The group said the decision could undermine the already shrinking fish catch of small-scale fishers.