(1) Commercial, Municipal and Inland Fisheries.pdf

Municipal and Commercial Fisheries Prepared by: Dante M. Mendoza Part 1: Overview of Philippine Fisheries What is Fisheries?  Refers to all activities relating to the act or business of fishing, culturing, preserving, processing, marketing, developing, conserving and managin...

Municipal and Commercial Fisheries Prepared by: Dante M. Mendoza Part 1: Overview of Philippine Fisheries What is Fisheries?  Refers to all activities relating to the act or business of fishing, culturing, preserving, processing, marketing, developing, conserving and managing aquatic resources and the fishery area including the privilege to fish or take aquatic resources thereof (RA 8550).  The application of scientific knowledge concerning fish populations to the problems of obtaining optimum production of fishery products, whether stated in tons of factory material or in hours of angling pressure (Everhart et al., 1975). Related Terms  Fishing - taking of fishery species from their wild state or habitat, with or without the use of fishing gears or fishing vessels.  Fisher - one who catches fish/fishery resources.  Fishing Gear - any instrument or device and its accessories utilized in taking fish and other fishery species.  Fishing Paraphernalia – materials used during fishing operation including safety gears, fish aggregating device, fishing accessories and fishing boat.  Fishing Method – the operation of fishing gear or the technique employed in fishing.  Fishing Ground - area in any body of water where fish and other aquatic resources congregate and become objects of capture.  Fishing Vessel - any boat, ship, or other watercraft equipped to be used for taking of fishery species or aiding or assisting one or more vessels in the performance of any activity relating to fishing, including but not limited to, preservation, supply, storage, refrigeration, transportation and/or processing. Major Areas  Aquatic Ecology and Resource Management  Capture Fisheries  Aquaculture  Post Harvest Fisheries Fishery Resources  2,200,000 km2 territorial water  168 sharks and rays (including EEZ)  648 mollusks  266,000 km2 coastal  28 marine mammals  1,934,000 km2 oceanic  5 marine turtles  36,289 km coastline  19 species of seagrasses  184, 600 km2 shelf area  1,082 species of seaweeds  27,000 sq. km. of coral reef  46 species of mangroves  3,212 fish species (731 are  550 corals commercially important)  500 hard  2,645 marine  50 soft  251 brackishwater  348 freshwater  2,000 reef fishes Philippine Maritime Entitlements  Internal Waters  Archipelagic Waters  Territorial Sea  Contiguous Zone  Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)  Extended Continental Shelf (Philippine Rise) Internal Waters  The Internal Waters of the Philippines refer to the:  (a) waters on the landward side of the archipelagic baselines not forming part of Archipelagic Waters under Section 4 hereof and delimited in accordance with Article 50 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); and/or  (b) waters on the landward side of the baseline of the territorial sea of territories outside of the archipelagic baselines. The Philippines exercises sovereignty over its Internal Waters and the airspace over it as well as its seabed and subsoil in accordance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and other existing laws treaties. Archipelagic Waters  The Archipelagic Waters of the Philippines refer to the waters on the landward side of the archipelagic straight baselines of the territorial sea of the Philippine archipelago not constituting internal waters.  The “Archipelagic Doctrine” is a legal principle wherein an archipelago is to be regarded as a single unit, such that the waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago, irrespective of their breadth and dimensions, form part of the internal waters of an archipelagic state, and are subject to its exclusive sovereignty. Territorial Sea  The Philippines Territorial Sea is the sea fully enclosing the entirety of the archipelago, measured 12 nautical miles from the baselines or from the low- water line.  The Philippines exercises sovereignty over its territorial sea and the airspace over it, as well as its seabed and subsoil, in accordance with UNCLOS and other existing laws and treaties. Contiguous Zone  The Contiguous Zone of the Philippines refers to the waters beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea and up to the extent of 24 nautical miles from the baselines or from the low-water line.  The Philippines exercises sovereign rights over this zone in accordance with UNCLOS and other existing laws and treaties. Exclusive Economic Zone  The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Philippines refers to the waters beyond and adjacent to its territorial sea (stretches from the outer limit of the territorial sea which is 12 nm from the baseline) and up to the extent of 200 nautical miles from the baselines or from the low-water line.  The Philippines exercises sovereign rights over this area including the right to explore and exploit living and non-living, organic or non-organic resources in accordance with UNCLOS and other existing laws and treaties.  “Sovereign right" refers to the coastal state's rights below the surface of the sea; the surface waters are international waters. Continental Shelf  The Continental Shelf of the Philippines comprises the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation of its land territory to the outer edge of the continental margin, or to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured, where the outer edge of the continental margin does not extend up to that distance.  The Philippines exercises sovereign rights over this area including the right to explore and exploit living and non-living, organic or non-organic resources in accordance with UNCLOS and other existing laws and treaties. The Benham Rise (Philippine Rise)  In 2012, the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf approved the submission of the Philippines in 2009 with respect to the limits of its continental shelf in the Benham Rise region (renamed Philippine Rise).  The Philippine Rise is a 24.4 million hectare undersea region located east of Luzon, which includes a 13.4 million hectare outer section.  Pres. Duterte signed a presidential proclamation to protect 50,000 hectares of the Philippine Rise including the pristine Benham Bank, where some areas have 100% coral cover, as a “strict protection zone”. High Seas  High seas are part of the sea which extends beyond the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of a State.  High Seas Pocket No. 1 - Area of the high seas bound by the EEZ of the Federated States of Micronesia to the north and east, Republic of Palau to the west, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea to the south.  High Seas Pocket No. 2 - Area of high seas bounded by the Exclusive Economic Zones of the Cook Islands to the west, French Polynesia to the east and Kiribati to the north.  High Seas Pocket 3 and 4 - Additional high seas pockets which FFA has proposed to also close to purse seine fishing  Mati-matihan - High Seas Pocket adjacent to the East of Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), South the Japanese EEZ and North of the Palau’s EEZ  Note: The high seas are open to all States, whether coastal or land-locked; Fishing vessels fishing in High Seas Pocket 1 (HSP-1 SMA) cannot fish in High Seas Pocket 2 (Eastern High Seas SMA). Legal basis to fish in the high seas  The conditional “freedom to fish” established by relevant provisions of UNCLOS and the ancillary Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA) gives all states the right to fish the high seas subject to the conditions established by the provisions of these and other agreements to which those states are party.  It is unlawful for any person to fish in the high seas, in the territorial seas, archipelagic waters, and Exclusive Economic Zones of other states using a Philippine flagged fishing vessel without first securing a fishing permit from the Department and authorization from the coastal state (RA 10654). Philippines Major Fishing Grounds Seas Sea - great body of salt water that covers much of territorial waters Bays Bay - parts of the sea partially enclosed by land and rich in fishery resources. Is well- marked indentation whose penetration is in such proportion to the width of the mouth as to contain land-locked waters and constitute more than a mere curvature of the coast. An indentation shall not, however, be regarded as bay unless its area is as large as, or larger than, that of the semi-cycle whose diameter is a line drawn across the mouth of that indentation Gulfs Gulf - larger than a bay arm of sea or ocean enclosed by large amounts of land Channels and Passages Channel - a waterway that passes between two land masses, connecting two bodies of water and permitting the passage of boats or larger vessels. Passage - a narrow navigable channel, especially one through reefs or islands and sometimes called a pass. Straits Strait - a narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water. Major Lakes Lake - an inland body of water, an expanded part of a river, a reservoir formed by a dam, or a lake basin formerly covered by water. Capture Fisheries Sub-Sectors  Municipal marine fisheries - operate within municipal waters (15 km from the coastline) using fishing vessels of three (3) gross tons or less, or fishing not requiring the use of fishing vessels.  Commercial marine fisheries - operate beyond the municipal waters using fishing vessels more than three gross tons.  Small-scale (3.1 GT - 20 GT )  Medium-scale (20.1 GT – 150 GT)  Large-scale (>150 GT) Global Contribution  The Philippines ranked 11th in terms of fish and aquatic species production globally.  The total production of 4.12 million MT of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, etc., constituted 1.88% of the world’s production in 2021 (FAO, 2023).  The country ranked 8th in terms of aquaculture with 928, 820.99 MT (1.02%) contribution (FAO, 2023).  The Philippines is also the world’s 4th largest producer of aquatic plants, primarily seaweeds, with 1,344,083.48 MT (FAO, 2023). Global Contribution  The Philippines ranked 11 in terms of annual capture fisheries with a global contribution of 1.84 million tons or 2.02% of the world’s catch (FAO, 2023). Economic Contribution  Contributes 12.82% to the total GVA, equating to a value of PhP 269.64 billion at current prices.  Ranked 3rd among the agricultural industry groups following agricultural crops and livestock which contributed 46.41% and 14.25% at current prices. Registered Fisherfolk  A total of 2.30 million registered fisherfolk were engaged in various types of fishery- related livelihoods across different municipalities in the country (FishR, 2022).  Capture fishing accounted for 50.96% of the livelihood distribution, making it the most common source of income among fisherfolk, followed by aquaculture at 11.27%, gleaning at 11.18%, fish vending at 6.83%, fish processing at 1.96%, and the rest encompassing 17.81%. Production Status  The total fisheries production in 2022 reached 4,338,198.59 MT.  Aquaculture has the highest contribution which is accounted for 54.15% of total production.  Out of the total fisheries production of 4.34 million MT, the BARMM had the largest share with 30.44% or 1.32 million MT.  Region XII had the highest production in commercial capture fisheries, while BARMM topped in both municipal capture fisheries and aquaculture sub- sectors.  For 2022, the value of total fisheries production was PhP 326,567,534.85. Among all regions, Region III had the highest contribution of 14.82%. Production Trend (Aquaculture)  The trend shows a stable volume of production in aquaculture from 2013 to 2015, which was not sustained in 2016 as production declined by about 147,247.86 MT.  The sub-sector started to recover in 2017 towards 2019, as it reached its peak volume of 2.36 million MT, however, the production declined again from 2020 to 2021.  In 2022, aquaculture production increased by 102,936.24 MT or 4.58% from the previous year.  The value of production followed the same trend as that of volume, as it also decreased towards 2016 but recovered in the following years up to 2019.  Despite the decrease in the volume of production in 2021, aquaculture production value was still able to increase by 12.40%, reaching the largest value in the ten-year period with PhP 128.56 billion.  However, the value of production decreased again in the following year to PhP 124.00 billion despite the 4.58% increase in the volume of production Distribution of Aquaculture Production (By Culture Type)  The majority of aquaculture production came from seaweed culture, contributing 1.54 million MT or 65.76% of the total production share.  Culture in brackishwater ponds ranked second with 12.66% or 297,513.98 MT, followed by freshwater ponds with 7.76% or 182,225.02 MT, and marine cages with 7.45% or 175,117.49 MT. Top Commodities (By Production Volume)  The top ten most produced commodities in aquaculture includes the BFAR’s top five priority commodities such as seaweed, milkfish, tilapia, shrimp and shellfish (PSA, 2023).  Among the five (5) priority commodities in aquaculture, seaweed remained as the top produced commodity, accounting for 65.76% of the sub-sector’s total volume of production.  Milkfish predominantly contributed to the total aquaculture production value in 2022, amounting to PhP 46.41 billion or 37.42% of the total value of aquaculture commodities.  It was followed by shrimp with a registered value of PhP 27.63 billion or 22.29% share, and tilapia with PhP 21.44 billion or 17.29% share.  Seaweed on the other hand, ranked 4th with a value amounting to PhP 16.60 billion despite posting a sizable volume of production. Production Trend (Capture Fisheries)  The capture fisheries experienced a downward trend in production volume during the first half of the ten- year period.  Production then had a gradual increase in 2019 and 2020, which eventually declined towards 2021 and 2022, resulting in a reduction in production from 2.08 million MT in 2020 to 1.99 million MT in 2022.  In spite of consecutive declines from 2021 to 2022, the sub-sector still managed to register a substantial value of PhP 202.56 billion in 2022; a general upward trajectory in production value was observed except in 2020 and 2016, where the sub-sector recorded the lowest value in the last ten years amounting to PhP 137.79 billion Top Commodities (By Production Volume)  The volume of production from capture fisheries was predominantly led by tuna, sharing 475,313.47 MT (23.90%) to the sub-sector’s total production, recording a notable increase in both volume and value of production in 2022.  Tuna commodities were mostly caught from Region XII, sharing 47.58% to the total tuna production, followed by sardines, which recorded a 9.59% decline, and roundscad which also posted a decrease of 5.10%.  Big-eyed scad, mackerel, squid, and others, were also among the top commodities in the capture fisheries sub-sector. Small Pelagic Species  Small pelagic species shared 879,779.47 MT (44.23%) to the total capture fisheries production in 2022.  Bali sardinella was the leading contributor in terms of production volume over the last five years, with the majority of these species mostly found in Region IX.  It was then followed by roundscad, sharing 172,268.17 (19.58%) to the total production of small pelagic species.  Big-eyed scad, squid and anchovies were also among the top produced small pelagic species in the country. Demersal Species  Demersal species registered a total volume of 200,707.26 MT, or 10.09% of the total capture fisheries production.  Among these species, threadfin bream shared the highest with 33,973.38 MT or 16.93% of demersal fish production, the first in the last five years where it was usually dominated by slipmouth.  Blue crab, grouper, and siganid were also among the top produced demersal species in 2022 Oceanic Tuna  Skipjack remained to be the top contributor, sharing a substantial volume of 256,837.26 MT (12.91%) to the capture fisheries production or 54.04% of the total tuna production.  It was usually followed by frigate tuna, but due to its decline of 10.42% in 2022, it was surpassed by yellowfin tuna by only 740 MT. Export and Import Summary  In terms of international trade, the fishery industry registered a net surplus of USD 292.25 million from the total export value of USD 1.21 billion and import value of USD 920.46 million in 2022. Fisheries Exports  From 2018 to 2021, the country’s export volume of fish and fishery/aquatic products exhibited a continuous decline.  However, an increment of 9.41% was experienced in 2022, which amounted to a PhP 75.40 million increase compared to the previous year.  For the last five years, the highest volume and value recorded was both in 2018 with 464,248 MT and a corresponding value of PhP 1.58 billion. Fisheries Exports  The majority or 79.14% of the exported commodities were classified as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and other prepared or preserved products.  These commodities posted 223,703 MT of export volume with a value amounting to PhP 46.26 billion.  Meanwhile, the remaining commodities were shells, miscellaneous fishery products and other derivatives Export Destinations  Exports of fish and fishery/aquatic products to the USA constituted the highest share in the export value with 21.10%, which amounted to approximately PhP 13.94 billion.  Other countries with significant share in the country’s total value of exports of fish and fishery/aquatic products during 2022 were Japan with PhP 8.07 billion (12.21%), China with PhP 6.61 billion (10.00%), Germany with PhP 4.81 billion (7.28%), and Netherlands with PhP 3.93 billion (5.95%). Major Fishery Exports  Tuna registered the highest volume of 106,923 MT which indicates a 37.83% share.  This was followed by seaweeds and carrageenan with an export volume of 48,891 MT (17.30%) and eel with 22,352 MT (7.91%).  Tuna also posted the highest export value in 2022, which amounted to PhP 21.98 billion or a share of 33.27% to the country’s total export value of fish and fishery/aquatic products.  Exports of seaweeds and carrageenan ranked second as it recorded a share of PhP 19.03 billion (28.80%), followed by crab with an export value of PhP 4.98 billion (7.54%). Fisheries Imports  The recorded volume of imported fish and fishery/aquatic products in 2022 was 561,158 MT which translated to a 5.24% increase from last year’s imported volume.  From the last five years, 2020 had the lowest volume of imported fish and fishery/aquatic products with 405.57 million MT, while 2022 recorded the highest imported volume. Fisheries Imports  The highest share of these total fish imports consisted of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and other processed or preserved forms, collectively recorded a 498,087 MT equivalent to PhP 43.79 billion, which is 87.32% of the total value.  The remaining were miscellaneous fishery products, contributing a total import volume of 62,690 MT or PhP 6.31 billion, equivalent to about 12.59% of the overall value. Import Origins  A significant 37.35% share originated from China. Vietnam accounted for PhP 7.28 billion followed by Papua New Guinea with PhP 6.38 billion while South Korea contributed PhP 1.67 billion and Taiwan with PhP 1.52 billion.  The remaining portion comprised of imports from other countries with a value amounting of PhP 14.57 billion, equivalent to 29.05% of the total value of imported fish and fishery/aquatic products. Major Imports  Tuna accounts for 30.05%, equivalent to 168,607 MT.  This was followed by mackerel, accounting for 14.43% or equivalent to 80,951 MT, roundscad with 9.55% (53,566 MT) and cuttlefish with 9.05% (50,770 MT) share to the total fisheries imports.  Tuna had the highest value of imports among the fish commodities with 31.88% share to the total value, which amounted to PhP 16.00 billion.  The remaining prominent commodities in terms of value are mackerel, cuttlefish, and roundscad, accounting for 10.66%, 8.20%, and 7.82% shares, respectively. Balance of Trade  In 2022, the Philippines maintained a trade surplus of USD 292.25 million, equivalent to PhP 15.92 billion. The said positive balance of trade was attributed to the country’s total export of 282,674 MT of fish and fishery/aquatic products, amounting to USD 1.21 billion and import of 561,158 MT valued at USD 920.46 million. Meanwhile, a slight growth in production was observed for both import and export, as its volume increased by 9.40% and 5.24%, respectively. The said growth also translated into a substantial increase in the value of imported and exported commodities. Fishery Product Consumption  Filipinos consume fish and fish products the most next to rice and rice products; 11.70% of the total intake of each Filipino is composed of fish products which is equivalent to 93.90 grams/day.  63.00% higher than meat and meat products, and 206.00% higher than poultry. Fishery Product Consumption  Each Filipino consumes an average of 34.27 kg/year of fish and fishery products comprising of 23.36 kg of fresh fish, 2.85 kg of dried fish (as fresh fish), 4.97 kg of processed fish, and 3.10 kg of crustaceans and molluscs. Monthly Retail Prices  In 2022, the prices of fish fluctuated at a relatively stable rate with shrimp, seaweeds, and squid having the highest increase from January to December by PhP 12.20, PhP 6.37, and PhP 4.04 respectively.  It can be noted that the prices of fish increased during the fourth quarter of 2022. Fish Inflation Rate  Fish inflation rate for the last four years was observed to be lowest in 2019 with 3.90%, and highest in 2022 with 6.70%.  The highest recorded monthly inflation rates in 2022 were in October, July, and September with 9.40%, 9.20%, and 9.10%, respectively  Core Problems Contributing Factors · Loss of marine biodiversity · Overfishing · Declining fish stocks · Illegal and destructive fishing · Loss of revenues and benefits from · Coastal and habitat degradation fisheries and coastal resources · Siltation and pollution · Post-harvest losses Issues · Inequitable distribution of benefits from fisheries and coastal resource uses · · · Inefficient marketing Open access Inter- and intra-sectoral conflicts · Low awareness and participation in management · Lack of employment/poverty among municipal fishers · Population growth · Low awareness of the implications of overpopulation and food security · Lack of delivery mechanisms for reproductive health programs in rural coastal communities · Inconsistent policies and programs for · Continued investments in production-oriented sustainable fisheries programs · Conflicting and fragmented national policies · Weak institutional and stakeholder · Absence of a vision for institutional change to capacity to plan and implement support sustainable fisheries fisheries management · Inadequate technical and financial support to LGU fisheries management initiatives · Weak and inadequate law enforcement · Inadequate interagency coordination mechanisms for fisheries and coastal resource management · Lack of a constituency for sustainable · Low awareness and understanding of the fisheries implications of overfishing on food security and economic development · Polarization of stakeholders over means to achieve sustainable fishing Fisheries Management Areas (FMAs)  Bays, gulfs, lakes or any other fishery areas which may be delineated for fishery resource management purposes.  Under FAO 263, the Philippine Waters is delineated into 12 FMAs, based on considerations of stocks distribution, structure of fisheries and administrative divisions.  FMA 5, with an area of 483,417 sq.km, is the 2nd largest of the 12FMAs; and FMA 6, with 293,930 km 2, is 4th largest.  These two covers the entirety of the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and a large part of the eastern region of the South China Sea (SCS) basin, an area of 740,000 sq.km, about a third of the Philippines’ 2.2 million sq.km maritimedomain1 and 20 percent of the 3.8 million sq.km area of the SCS (Malayang et al., 2023). Objectives  Provide science-based, participatory, and transparent governance framework and mechanism to sustainably manage fisheries.  Uphold ecosystems approach to fisheries management anchored on food security.  Provide opportunities for supplementary livelihood for poverty alleviation consistent with the objectives of the Amended Fisheries Code.  Ensure cooperation between local governments and national agencies and stakeholders. Part 2: Municipal and Commercial Fishing Municipal Fishing  Fishing operations carried out without the use of a boat or with the use of a boat of three (3) gross tons or less. Also called household or sustenance fishing.  As defined under Republic Act (RA) 8550 otherwise known as the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 and as amended by RA 10654, municipal fishing is traditional, artisanal, subsistence or small-scale activities that involves the use of vessels with 3 gross tons (GT) or less as well as fishing operations that do not use fishing boats while commercial fisheries include all fishing operations that use vessels of over 3.1 GT. Municipal Fishing  Inland fishing activities are also considered as part of municipal fishing that operate in enclosed freshwater areas such as lakes and reservoirs using vessels of 3 GT or less.  The country has almost 500,000 ha of inland bodies of water, comprising 246,000 ha of swamp lands, 200,000 ha of lakes, 31,000 ha of rivers, and 19,000 ha of reservoirs.  Municipal fishing activities are regulated by the local government. Municipal Fishers  Municipal fishers are not only those who do actual fishing activities but often includes other sectors or groups that may or may not be directly dependent on fishing as their main livelihood (fish processors, fish vendors, and fish buyers).  There are also non-fishing livelihood activities that depend on fishing in a community such as boat building, net making and store vending.  The women in municipal fishing communities are often seen in the pre- and post-harvest activities. Municipal Waters  Include not only streams, lakes, inland bodies of water and tidal waters within the municipality which are not included within the protected areas as defined under Republic Act No. 7586 (The NIPAS Law), public forest, timber lands, forest reserves or fishery reserves, but also marine waters included between two (2) lines drawn perpendicular to the general coastline from points where the boundary lines of the municipality touch the sea at low tide and a third line parallel with the general coastline including offshore inlands and fifteen (15) kilometers from such coastline. Municipal Waters  A 15-km expanse of waters has been classified as “municipal waters”, falling under the jurisdiction of local municipal and city governments.  Where two (2) municipalities are so situated on opposite shores that there is less than thirty (30) kilometers of marine waters between them, the third line shall be equally distant from opposite shore of the respective municipalities.  The guidelines for delineating municipal waters have been issued through DA Administrative Order 1, Series of 2004 to identify and define the territorial limits of municipalities and cities.  Commercial fishing is not allowed in municipal waters unless special ordinances approving this activity are approved by the municipal or city councils. Municipal Waters  The municipal/city government shall have jurisdiction over municipal waters as defined in the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998.  The municipal/city government, in consultation with the FARMC is responsible for the management, conservation, development, protection, utilization and disposition of all fish and fishery/aquatic resources within their respective municipal waters.  The municipal/city government may, in consultation with the FARMC, enact appropriate ordinances for this purpose and in accordance with the National Fisheries Policy.  The ordinances enacted by the municipality and component city were reviewed pursuant to Republic Act No. 7160 by the sanggunian of the province which has jurisdiction over the same. The LGUs also enforce all fishery laws, rules and regulations as well as valid fishery ordinances enacted by the municipal/city council. Municipal Waters  The management of contiguous fishery resources such as bays which straddle several municipalities, cities or provinces, shall be done in an integrated manner, and shall not be based on political subdivisions of municipal waters in order to facilitate their management as single resource systems.  The LGUs, which share or border such resources may group them and coordinate with each other to achieve the objectives of integrated fishery resource management.  The Integrated Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Councils (IFARMCs) established under Section 76 of Philippine Fisheries Code serve as the venues for close collaboration among LGUs in the management of contiguous resources. Municipal Fishing Operation (Structure and Sharing system)  Primary and related activities are generally done the whole year, but specific fishing gears are used depending on the climatic conditions and target species.  Fishing is also characterized by lean and peak season.  Fishers may also use a variety of gears, often shifting dependent on the season.  Capitalization for fishing can be as low as PhP30 for those who use spears and as high as PhP150,000.00 for owners of fish corrals.  Women glean and fish using torches in the tidal flats. Municipal Fishing Operation (Structure and Sharing system)  In situations when some fishers do not have a boat, they often go with their relatives or friends when fishing.  In a boat with two fishers, the boat owner normally gets 1/3 of the catch and the remaining 2/3 are divided amongst the two fishers.  In areas where tourism abounds, some fishers also rent their boat to tourists. Municipal Fisherfolk Organization/Cooperative  A duly registered association of fisherfolk with a common bond of interest, who have voluntarily joined together to achieve a lawful common social or economic end, making equitable contribution to the capital requirement and accepting a fair share of the risks and benefits of the undertakings in accordance with universally accepted cooperative.  Fisherfolk organization/cooperatives, whose members are listed in the registry of municipal fisherfolk, may be granted use of demarcated fishery areas to engage in fish capture, mariculture and/or fish farming.  Resident municipal fisherfolk of the municipality concerned and their organizations/cooperatives shall have priority to exploit municipal and demarcated fishery areas of the said municipality. Municipal Fishing Production  Of the 4.34 million MT capture fisheries production, marine municipal fisheries shared 25.96%.  Of this, 84.43% came from marine fisheries and the remaining 15.57% came from inland fisheries.  Region IX was the top producing region for marine municipal fisheries and BARMM for inland municipal fisheries in 2022 in terms of production volume.  In terms of value, Region VI and Region III were on top for marine and inland municipal fisheries, respectively. Production Trend  For the last ten years, the volume of production shows a declining trend as it dropped from 1.26 million MT in 2013 to 1.11 million MT in 2018.  A slight increase in the production was observed in 2019 as the volume posted 1.13 million MT indicating a similar production number as the year 2017.  The sub-sector recorded its lowest production volume at 1.10 million MT in 2020, but recovered thereafter, to which production increased from 2021 to 2022.  On the other hand, the value of production shows an inconsistent pattern as the value fluctuated from 2013 to 2020, but increased towards 2021 with its highest recorded value at PhP 127.63 billion in 2022. Production Trend  The ten-year trend underscores the decline in the total production of the municipal sub-sector, as its total registered volume decreased by 0.50% from its previous year’s output.  The said decline can be attributed to the collective decrease in production from ten regions, with Region VII recording the largest decline of 42.61%, equivalent to 32,867.51 MT decrement.  BARMM still registered the largest contribution with 186,164.53 MT and exhibited a consistent positive growth rate in production.  Likewise, NCR and Region XI experienced a significant increase in the volume of production, recording a 175.63% and 146.08% growth respectively. Production Trend  The municipal capture fisheries registered a total value of PhP 127.63 billion in 2022. BARMM, as the top producing region in the municipal sub-sector, likewise, posted a noteworthy value amounting to PhP 16.39 billion with an average annual share of 9.48%.  This was followed by Region VI with PhP 15.31 billion (12.90%), Region IX with PhP 12.35 billion (8.12%), Region V with PhP 12.10 billion (10.65%), and Region VIII with PhP 11.58 billion (8.72%). Municipal Catch  In terms of share in the volume of production in 2022, the top five (5) major species in the Marine Municipal Fisheries sub-sector are tuna (12.44%), sardines (9.25%), big-eyed scad (6.81%), tilapia (4.63%) and mackerel (4.36%).  The tuna production is amounting to a value of PhP 18.90 billion followed by big-eyed scad, tilapia, and mackerel with a respective value of PhP 8.98 billion, PhP 4.52 billion and PhP 6.81 billion. Marine Municipal Fishing Production  Region IX exceeded the 2022 BARMM production by 2,560.66 MT, as it registered a volume of 123,284.58 MT. BARMM on the other hand still made a substantial contribution, as it posted a total volume of 120,723.92 MT.  As for the value of production, Region VI made the largest contribution, with its value amounting to PhP 14.91 billion or 13.23% share to the sub-sectors total value of production. Marine Municipal Fish Catch  Tuna topped the commodity ranking with 140,103.26 MT or 14.73% share to the sub- sector’s total volume of production, equating to a value of PhP 18.90 billion or 14.81% share.  This production output was 5.80% higher than its previous year’s production of 132,423.08 MT.  It was then followed by sardines, one of the top produced commodities next to tuna, exhibiting 104,234.43 MT, despite a negative 15.11% growth in production.  Other commodities with significant contribution to sub-sector’s total production includes, big- eyed scad with 76,693.27 MT (8.07%), mackerel with 49,085.92 MT (5.16%), squid with 48,243.03 MT (5.07%), among others. Inland Municipal Fishing Production  BARMM continues to be the top producer in the inland municipal fisheries despite experiencing a 5.02% decrease in production compared to 2021 data.  The said region contributed 65,440.61 MT to the country’s total production volume in 2022, which was equivalent to PhP 7.31 billion.  This was followed by Region IV-A with 35,047.27 MT, Region III with 21,483.42 MT, and Region XII with 20,828.52 MT. Inland Municipal Fish Catch  Out of the 175,351.56 MT produced in inland municipal fisheries, 52,126.25 (29.73%) were tilapia, 21,643.26 (12.34%) were mudfish, and 21,321.13 (12.61%) were snail.  In terms of value, tilapia was still the highest contributor, with a value amounting to PhP 4.53 billion or 30.32% of the total value of inland municipal fisheries commodities.  This was followed by mudfish with PhP 2.88 billion, and catfish with PhP 1.26 billion. Commercial Fishing  Commercial fishing refers to fishing beyond the municipal waters using fishing vessels more than three gross tons.  Commercial fishing is classified into: a) small scale – making use of passive or active gear and utilizing fishing vessels of 3.1-20 GT; b) medium scale – utilizing active gears and vessels of 20.1- 150 GT; and c) large scale – utilizing active gears and vessels of more than 150 GT.  Commercial fishing vessels are required to fish outside municipal waters, which is beyond 15 km off the shoreline and are required to secure commercial fishing vessel and gear license (CFVGL) from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), which is subject to renewal every three (3) years.  Commercial fishing is regulated by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of the Department of Agriculture (DA-BFAR). Commercial Fishers  Commercial fishers can be divided to those operating mainly in Philippine waters, and those that can operate beyond our territorial limits.  An example of the latter is the country’s distant-water fishing fleet, which conducts purse seine operations in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Commercial Fishing Operation (Purse Seine Crew Structure)  The most common commercial fishing operation is that of a purse seine.  About 40-50 individuals are employed in one purse seine operation.  The operator or the capitalist of a purse seiner provides the capital and technology.  The next in line is the encargado who oversees the outfit’s operations whenever the operator is absent, and looks after the crewmembers.  Some purse seine operators do not have an encargado, instead, the master fisherman, sometimes called the boat captain becomes the highest-ranking member.  The segundo (next in command) takes over operations whenever the master fisherman is unavailable or unable to join the trip. Commercial Fishing Operation (Purse Seine Crew Structure)  The tersero takes on the role and responsibilities of the master fisherman or segundo when the situation requires it.  The rank-and-file crewmembers are called the pansan or the lambateros who are responsible for hauling the net and sorting of the catch; further classified into groups, depending on whether they work in the stern, prow or center of the boat; there are about 20 lambateros in one purse seine operation.  The rest of the crew is made up of the:  bodegero (in charge of sorting and storing catch);  lawagero (responsible for the lightboats pointing good locations for setting); and  cook, chief mechanic and his assistant and the boleros.  The boleros are the lowest in rank who are not regular members of the crew and participate in fishing operations only on some occasions. Commercial Fishing Operation (Purse Seine Sharing Systems)  Komon system - the total net income in one fishing trip is divided in a way where the operator gets 26.5 shares from the komon while the rest is divided among the 40-50 crewmembers.  Dyaryo system - a small fraction of a night’s catch is divided amongst the crewmembers; its not fixed and is often dependent of what is perceived by the master fisherman as a “fair share” for the crewmembers.  Remedyo system - regular salaries are provided; on top of this, the crew are allowed to get the fish they caught using their own handline, all the small fish that are entangled in the net and they are given fish by the master fisherman on occasions of very high catch. Commercial Fishing Operation (Work distribution - FAD-fishers)  Among the ranks of FAD-based fishers, the master fishers, boat captains, master netters, and divers are the ones who are the most knowledgeable on fishing operations.  These fishers are experts who can provide reliable information on fish behavior because of their constant exposure to the fishing areas during their daily fishing operations.  Piado (master fisher):  oversees the fishing fleet in the fishing ground.  has both the navigational and leadership skills to lead in the boat.  crafts and executes fishing expeditions and he decides when and where to deploy the FADs.  familiar and knowledgeable of the movement patterns of fish, current directions, and waves.  accustomed to the flow of the weather in the area and its impacts on the fishing grounds. Commercial Fishing Operation (Work distribution - FAD-fishers)  Kapitan (the boat captain and second in command):  possesses navigational skills in using compass, maps, GPS, and oceanographic knowledge.  exposed to daily fishing operations.  Maestro bosero (master diver; third in rank):  gets the estimates of the biomass of fish gathered below an FAD during monitoring or before an FAD can be lighted or set.  Maestro pokotero (master netter):  oversees the deployment of nets during fishing operations and is in charge of keeping collection of the nets clean and organized. Commercial Fishing Operation (Tuna Handline Crew Structure)  Types of handline fisher: the palaran and the pamariles (in General Santos).  The palaran handliner is confined in the municipal waters, while pamariles fishers can venture to distant waters that are even beyond the Philippine EEZ.  In pamariles, the start-up capital for a fishing venture varies, depending on the duration, fishing ground and crew capacity of the vessel.  A small pumpboat can carry up to 8 fishers, while vessels of average size are capable of carrying 12-15 fishers. The bigger pumpboat can carry up to 20 crew or fishers.  Each pumpboat has an operator who takes the role of captain and is, therefore, in command of the fishing operation.  There is also a chief mechanic on board who takes charge of the pump boat's engine. The rest of the crew is composed of fishers. Commercial Fishing Operation (Tuna Handline Sharing Systems)  Lilima system  Refers to the share of the fisher, which is equivalent to one-fifth or 20% of the actual gross sale of his captured tuna for every fishing expedition.  The financier usually gets 10 per cent commission from the gross sales of all captured tuna, while the broker or the one who disposes the fish gets 5 percent.  The start-up capital will also be taken from the gross sales and given back to the financier. Once the share of the fishers, commission of financiers and brokers, incidental expenses, and start-up capital are deducted from the gross sales, the leftover money becomes the net sale of the fishing expedition.  This net sale will then be divided between the boatowner and the operator.  The operator usually gets 15–25 per cent, depending on the turnout of the expedition, while the rest of the money will go to the boatowner.  In cases when a segunda operator or chief mechanic is also on board, he gets 5 –15 percent of the net sales. Commercial Fishing Operation (Tuna Handline Sharing Systems)  Sukod system  The operator is considered a partner of the boatowner in terms of benefits and costs.  Thus, if the fishing expedition loses money, the operator gets to absorb the losses too, like the boatowners.  There is no fixed date or duration for the boatowner to pay off his/her financial obligation to the financier, since fishing turnover is highly unpredictable.  If the boatowner is lucky, he/she can pay his/her debt in a few months’ time, while others take a year-and-a-half to recover.  There are also cases when a boatowner becomes so nose-deep in debt that he/she has to give up the boat to the financier as a form of repayment. Commercial Fishing Production  In 2022, the top producing regions for commercial fisheries were Regions XII, IX and BARMM with recorded volume of 234,026.98 MT, 225,113.96 MT, and 92,352.88 MT, respectively.  Meanwhile, the highest value of production, at current prices, is in Region XII with PhP 23,008,560.05, Region IX with PhP 12,693,993.01, and Region VI with PhP 9,085,841.74. Production Trend  Volume of production has a fluctuating trend from 2013 to 2022 period with an average growth rate of negative 1.76%.  The recorded volume from 2013 to 2016 consistently exceeded 1.00 million MT in production, which gradually decreased towards 2019.  A sudden increase in production was recorded in 2020, which was not sustained in the following years as the production recorded its lowest volume of 0.86 million MT in 2022.  Consistent with the sub-sector performance in terms of volume, higher values of production were also observed during the 2013 to 2015 period compared to the succeeding years until 2021.  However, value of production had a notable spike in 2022 reaching PhP 74.93 billion Commercial Catch  Tuna remained as the top commodity in commercial fisheries in 2022 with 38.86% share or equivalent to 335,210.21 MT.  Most of the tuna species caught in the country is composed of bigeye tuna, eastern little tuna, frigate tuna, skipjack, and yellowfin tuna.  Following the ranking were sardines (26.89%), roundscad (15.42%), big-eyed scad (4.18%), and mackerel (2.98%).  As for the production value at current prices, tuna also had the largest share with 47.27%. Incentives (Municipal)  At least ten percent (10%) of the credit and the guarantee funds of government financing institutions are made available for post-harvest and marketing projects for the purpose of enhancing our fisherfolk competitiveness by reducing post- harvest losses.  Qualified projects include, but limited to, ice plants, cold storage, canning, warehouse, transport and other related infrastructure projects and facilities; and  Capability-building program is developed by the government to promote greater bankability and credit worthiness of municipal and small-scale commercial fishers.  Such program includes organizing activities, technology transfer, and skills training related to commercial fishing as well as credit management.  Information campaigns are made to promote the capability-building and credit programs. The campaign ensure greater information dissemination and accessibility to targeted fisherfolk. Incentives (Commercial)  Long term loans supported by guarantee facilities to finance the building and acquisition and/or improvement of fishing vessels and equipment.  Commercial fishing vessel operators of Philippine registry will enjoy a limited period of tax and duty exemptions on the importation of fishing vessels not more than five (5) years old, equipment and paraphernalia, the period of exemptions and guidelines are fixed within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of Ra 8550.  Commercial fishing operator of Philippine registry engaged in fisheries in the high seas is entitled to duty and tax rebates on fuel consumption for commercial fisheries operations.  All applicable incentives available under the Omnibus Investment Code of 1987: Provided, That the fishing operation project is qualified for registration and is duly registered with the BOI.  Part 3: Regulating Municipal and Commercial Fishing Introduction  The Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries specifically on Article 7, Section 7.1.1 on Fisheries Management emphasized that the States and all those engaged in fisheries management through appropriate policy, legal and institutional framework should adopt measures for long term conservation and sustainable use of fisheries resources in all political units whether at local, national, subregional or regional levels.  Article 8 on Fishing Operations Section 8.1.7 mentioned also that States should enhance the skills of fishers through appropriate education and training programs which are agreeable to international standards and guidelines.  Article 8.5 on Fishing Gear Selectivity, Section 8.5.2 contain that in order to improve selectivity, States should continue drawing up laws and regulations and shall take into account the range of selective fishing gears, methods and strategies available to the industry. Technical Measures  Defined as “measures that regulate the composition of catches by species and size and the impacts on components of the ecosystems resulting from fishing activities by establishing conditions for the use and structure of fishing gear and restrictions on access to fishing areas” (Article 4 of EU Regulation 1380/2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy as cited by Bellido et al., 2020).  Technical measures establish a standardization in fishing practices with the goal of ensuring sustainability and usually adding extra costs to fishing operations (Bellido et al., 2020).  Often referred to as instruments of input and/or output controls.  Can be classified into:  Regulations of fleet access to fishing grounds; and  Regulations of what can be caught and what can be retained onboard. Gear Restrictions  From a management perspective, it is important to have a basic knowledge of the function and effect of different fishing gears as a foundation for the introduction of technical measures and gear regulations in fisheries, even though final implementation of such regulations should be based on scientific experiments to clarify the magnitude of underlying problems in the specific fishery and corresponding expected effects of the regulations.  Gear restrictions affect the number, type, characteristics, and operation of a fishing gear.  Gear restrictions limit on how the fishing gear is configured as well as prohibit certain types of gear in a fishery.  Some gears are prohibited outright to:  Avoid increases in fishing capacity through increased efficiency;  Avoid some unwanted impact on non-commercial sizes, species or critical habitats;  Avoid an injection of new technology which could modify significantly the existing distribution of exploitation rights.  Regulations of gear characteristics such as minimum mesh size or dimensions or mouth opening of nets or traps is generally introduced to control fishing mortality on some particular component of the resource.  Gear restrictions tend to be species-specific.  A mesh size designated to capture mature individuals of a smaller species will still catch immature individuals of a co-occurring larger species. Specific Uses of Gear Restrictions  Reduce the capacity or efficiency of each individual fisher, in order to reduce the amount each person can catch in a given time period;  Modify the selectivity of the fishery so that particular sizes or species of fish are vulnerable to the gear, while others are immune; and  Minimize or reduce habitat destruction and bycatch. Approaches  Mesh size regulation;  Installation of bycatch reduction devices;  Prohibition of destructive fishing gears. Mesh Size Regulation  Mesh size requirements are enforced to prevent the catch of undersized or juvenile fish.  Depends on the 'mechanical' selection of different sizes, and therefore ages, of fish by the gear being used.  Can vary by location and species.  As means to conserve spawning stocks and increasing the yield per recruit.  However, the determination of the “optimum” mesh size can be associated with a number of practical difficulties and management problems.  Demonstrating the effect of a change in mesh size;  Convincing the industry of the need for restrictive measures;  Determining the best mesh size for a fishery;  Meshing;  Socio-economic problems (conflict among resource users);  Quality of enforcement;  Chafers and double codends;  Minimum landing sizes;  Exemptions from mesh regulations;  Mesh differentials; and  Standardization of mesh-measuring methods for enforcement purposes. Mesh Size Regulations in the Philippines  FAO 190 prescribes pa-aling mesh size to not less than 3.38 cm;  FAO 155 prohibits the use of fine meshed nets (15 km from the shoreline) of the Philippines pursuant to Sec. 26 of R.A. 8550.  However, this is not valid for fishing operation in municipal waters and high seas or waters of other countries.  This document is valid for three (3) years except for paaling fishing vessels which is valid only for one (1) year.  New CFVGL is issued in BFAR Central Office while renewal of CFVGL is delegated to BFAR Regional Offices.  Only original CFVGL is required to be carried and poste in a conspicuous place on board the fishing vessel.  The operators must also register all fishing gears used by the fishing vessel pursuant to Sec. 29 of R.A. 8550. Registration of the fishing gear is required prior to licensing.  It contains mesh size specifications; issued only once except when there is/are modification/s in the fishing gear specifications and only catcher vessels are issued with fishing gear registration. Registration and Licensing System for Commercial Fisheries  International Fishing Permit  An international fishing permit authorizes the fishing vessel to conduct fishing operation in waters of other Coastal States and high seas pursuant to Sec. 32 of R.A. 8550.  This is valid for three (3) years; issued to all kinds of fishing vessels (catchers, carriers, lightboats, etc.) on the condition that these vessels are authorized by the Coastal State where they are fishing.  It is issued only in BFAR Central Office. BFAR Regional Offices are not authorized to issue IFP. At present, BFAR has fully implemented BFAR Administrative Circular No. 252 series of 2014 on the Rules and Regulations Governing Distant Water Fishing by Philippine-flagged fishing vessels.  This requires VMA (vessel Monitoring System) enrollment, observer coverage, landing declaration of catch of all Philippine-flagged fishing vessels fishing in RFMO areas.  Vessels carrying the Philippine flag are now being monitored through a fully functional VMS particularly for those fishing in HSP-1, ICCAT and IOTC areas, including Philippine flag bearing fishing vessels authorized to fish in waters of third countries (ex. Papua New Guinea). Registration and Licensing System for Commercial Fisheries  Certificate of Ownership  The certificate of ownership (CO) establishes the legal owner of the fishing vessel.  It is issued by the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) and contains important information of the fishing vessel such as length overall, gross tonnage, engine power and make, and registration number.  CO has no validity period and is issued only once except when there is transfer of ownership. Registration and Licensing System for Commercial Fisheries  Certificate of Philippine Registry  The certificate of Philippine Registry (CPR) registers the fishing vessel under Philippine flag, which is also issued by MARINA.  It also contains important information of the fishing vessel such as length overall, gross tonnage, engine power and make, and registration number.  Like CO, CPR has no validity period and is issued only once except when there is transfer of ownership. Registration and Licensing System for Commercial Fisheries  Shipstation License  A shipstation license is a requirement to all maritime vessels. It assigns the radio frequency and the International Radio Call Sign (IRCS) of the fishing vessel.  The standard format for Philippine callsigns is 2×3 – where 2 stands for the prefix letters (4D-4I or DU-DZ), and 3 stands for the suffix letters, both of which are assigned and regulated by the National Telecommunications Commission.  In the Philippines, it is issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and indicates the IRCS or the WCPFC Identification Number (WIN). Registration and Licensing System for Commercial Fisheries  Special Fishing Permit  The Flag State issues a special fishing permit (SFP) that authorizes Philippine-flagged fishing vessels to conduct fishing and fishing- related operations in WCPFC High Seas Pocket No. 1 pursuant to FAO 245, series of 2012.  This is valid for one (1) year only and issued only in BFAR Central Office. BFAR Regional Offices are not authorized to issue SFP. Catcher vessels are required to secure this document (e.g. purse seine & ring net vessels).  Carriers and lightboats are not required to have SFP. The State where the fishing activity will be conducted may also require other documents. Requirements for Skiff Boats and “Pakura/Sirisan”  Skiff Boat - a boat attached to one extremity of the purse seine and having one extremity of the purse line cable, which is kept on the top of the net on board the sloped part of the stem of the vessel.  "Pakura"or "sirisan" - means a small motorized boat, three (3) gross tons (GT) or less, using handline fishing gear and operates in conjunction with a commercial tuna handline vessel.  The owners and operators of commercial fishing vessels shall, include in their CFVL application, the complete information on their skiffboats. Such skiff boats shall be ad-measured, identified and indicated in the CFVL of the catcher vessel. The owner and operator of commercial handline vessels shall, indicate in their CFVL, the number of "pakura/sirisan’ (Section 9, FAO 198-1 s. 2018). Reducing Fleet Capacity  The fishing capacity of the fleet measures the capability to catch fish (Smith & Hanna, 1990).  The factors comprising fleet capacity are the number and size of vessels, the technical efficiency of those vessels, and the time commitment of fishermen.  Knowing the capacity utilization of a fleet is critical for evaluating management alternatives and controlling capacity requires addressing all the elements associated with capacity growth.  In many cases, licensing schemes have been adopted after overfishing has occurred; however, if the fleet is already too large for the particular fishery then it will be necessary to reduce its capacity.  This may be arranged in the following ways:  by removing vessels from the fleet;  by reducing the amount of fishing time;  by limiting the use of fishing gear;  by reducing the efficiency of fishing effort. IPOA for the management of fishing capacity  Excessive fishing capacity in world fisheries is an increasing concern. It contributes substantially to overfishing, the degradation of marine resources, the decline of food production potential and significant economic waste. These issues are embodied in this international plan of action.  Fishing capacity refers to the amount of fish (or fishing effort) that can be produced over a period of time (e.g. a year or a fishing season) by a vessel or a fleet if fully utilized and for a given resource condition - and the governance of fisheries to avoid overcapacity are unquestionably the most serious challenges of present-day fishery management.  The March 1995 Rome Consensus on World Fisheries, the November 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF), and the December 1995 Kyoto Declaration and Plan of Action noted the need for management of fishing capacity.  Since then, the issues of capacity, capacity management and the problems of overcapacity - especially as a key threat to the long-term viability of exploited fish stocks and the fisheries that depend on them - have become essential elements of work to avoid the degradation of fishery resources, the dissipation of potential food production, and significant economic waste. World’s Fishing Fleet PROPORTION OF FISHING VESSELS BY MOTORIZATION STATUS,  Asia hosts the world’s largest fishing fleet, GEOGRAPHICAL REGION AND INCOME GROUP, 2022 estimated at 3.5 million vessels or 71% of the global total in 2022. This proportion is a drop from 73% in 2019.  Africa’s fleet has been increasing relative to the rest of the world and represented over 19% of the world’s fishing vessels in 2022, up from 18% in 2019.  The shares of Latin America and the Caribbean (5%), Northern America, Europe (both 2%) and Oceania (< 1%) have not changed since 2019.  The largest part of the global fishing fleet is found in upper-middle-income (41%) and lower-middle-income (39%) countries, followed by high-income (11%) and low- income countries (8%). Analysis by Motorization Status GLOBAL FISHING FLEET, MOTORIZED VS NON-MOTORIZED, 1995–2022  There are approximately 3.3 million motorized vessels, comprising two- thirds of the global fishing fleet.  Their number increased from 2.4 million units in 1995 to a peak of 3.5 million in 2020, after which it slightly decreased to 3.3 million vessels in 2022.  Meanwhile, the number of non- motorized vessels decreased from 2 million in 1995 to 1.6 million in 2022 Analysis by Motorization Status SHARE OF MOTORIZED AND NON-MOTORIZED VESSELS BY GEOGRAPHICAL REGION, 2022  Asia had 80% (2.6 million) of the world’s motorized vessels and 54% (0.9 million) of non-motorized vessels in 2022.  Africa has the second-largest non- motorized fleet, estimated at 42% of the world total.  Together, Asia and Africa account for 96% of the global non-motorized fleet. Size distribution of vessels and the importance of small boats SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF FISHING FLEET, 1995–2022  Information on the size of vessels is available for only 37% of the total vessels reported.  This information is not available for the three countries with the world’s largest fleets that accounted for nearly half of the global fishing fleet in 2022 – China, Indonesia and the Philippines. SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF FISHING FLEET WITH KNOWN  Among those vessels for which information on LENGTH OVERALL, 1995–2022 length overall (LOA) was available in 2022, 89% were in the LOA class of under 12 m, 10 percent in the LOA class of 12 to 24 m, and 2 percent in the LOA class of over 24 m.  A gradual increase in the information on size and indicate that the share of small vessels has been decreasing since 2010. Size distribution of vessels and the importance of small boats SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF MOTORIZED FISHING FLEET BY GEOGRAPHICAL REGION, 2022  Small vessels represent the largest share among all motorized vessels with known LOA in all regions.  In 2022, this share was highest in Oceania (89%) and over 80% also in Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and Africa.  In Asia, 77% of vessels belonged to this category, while in Northern America only half of the fleet consisted of small vessels.  The proportion of large vessels (with an LOA of over 24 m and usually associated with over 100 gross tonnage) was highest in Northern America and Oceania (both 6%), followed by Europe (5%), Asia (3%), Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa (both 1%). Municipal Fishing Boats  A municipal fishing boat is a watercraft of at most 3 gross tones that used in coastal and inland waters for harvesting of fishery species and for other fishery operations.  Municipal fishers operate a small boat called a banca, that is usually made of marine plywood and relatively narrow and lightly constructed. Most are furnished with outriggers for stability. Bancas can be non-motorized or motorized type. Characteristics of Municipal Fishing Boats  Non-Motorized Type  Length overall (LOA) ranges from 3-7 m and gross tonnage ranges from 0.1- 0.2.  Used either paddle or sail as means of propulsion.  Carry one to several people depending on the fishing gear used.  Generally, paddled boats have the fishers facing the front without oarlocks.  During favorable monsoon weather, popular fishing gears used by sail- powered craft include trolling, handlines and gill nets.  Motorized Type  Length overall (LOA) ranges from 5-18 m and gross tonnage ranges from 0.5-2.9.  Boats with 3-16 HP gasoline or diesel engine are the most common motorized fishing craft.  The rudder is controlled by means of a long pole attached to the rudder arm.  Gill nets, handlines, traps, small ringnets, and other small gears are usually operated from these boats.  Recent innovations include the use of fiberglass to sheath the areas of the hull most prone to damage. Number of Registered Municipal Fishing Boats  The total number of fishing vessels registered as of 2023 is 375,995 (BFAR-BoatR, 2023).  11.10% of which are from Region VIII, contributing the largest number of municipal fishing vessels of 41,749.  This was followed by Region VII with 10.41% equivalent to 39,145 vessels, and Region IV-B with 9.93% or equivalent to 37,331 vessels. Commercial Fishing Vessels  A commercial fishing vessel is a boat, ship or other watercraft of at least 3.1 gross tones that is equipped to be used for harvesting of fishery species and for other fishery operations.  Classified into:  Small-scale (3.1 GT - 20 GT )  Medium-scale (20.1 GT – 150 GT)  Large-scale (>150 GT) Number of Registered Commercial Fishing Vessels  There are 1,004 operators and 5,090 licensed commercial fishing vessels as of 2022 (BFAR FRLD, 2023).  5.97% are large-scale, 48.39% are medium-scale and 45.66% are small-scale.  33.75% were from Region XII, followed by NCR with 11.94% or 608 fishing vessels, Region IV-A with 9.04% or or a number of 460 and Region IX with 8.98% or 457 vessels share. Philippine‐registered vessels in the WCPFC  The fishing vessels registered in the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) are identified with the ports name of Batangas, Cebu, Davao, Zamboanga, Cotabato, General Santos City and Manila. Removing Vessels from the Fleet  Removing vessels from a fleet requires the rescinding of a government license.  Removing a right to fi h from an individual requires just compensation.  Vessel removals are typically arranged by adopting a government funded buy-back or decommissioning scheme.  If the restrictive licenses are freely transferable then the government might simply enter the license market to buy up excess licenses.  However, vessels decommissioned are likely to be the least efficient in the fleet, their removal will not cause an equivalent reduction in the ability of the fleet to catch fish.  Moreover, fishing communities are frequently tight-knit, and the money paid to an older owner to retire from the fishery may then be recirculated into the fleet capacity.  Removing vessels from a fleet will tend to increase the profitability of the remaining vessels and thus would serve the economic objective of maximizing profit. Reducing Fishing Time  Reduction in fishing time may be arranged by imposing limits on the days that vessels may spend fishing.  Once a vessel is over the horizon it may be difficult to check its precise activities.  A vessel could be given a quota of days during which it might fish (interpreted usually as a number of days that it could not fish and had to be tied up in harbor).  Such allowances might be transferable and traded between vessels.  Other restrictions on time at sea may be arranged with schemes such as no fishing on weekends.  Reducing the amount of usage of fishing vessels may tend to make the fleet less effective and thus possibly preserve employment, though possibly for shorter working periods.  Alternatively, if the time that vessels can be used can be traded between vessels such a restriction might ultimately improve profitability but more slowly than the direct removal of vessels would. Limiting the Use of Fishing Gear  Fishing vessels tend to use the size of fishing gear that is appropriate to the vessel’s size and horsepower, but even for this gear, newer developments (e.g. three bridle twin trawl rig) may increase a vessel’s effective fishing power.  Restricting the use of such gears may be one way of restricting the increase of the efficiency of fishing effort.  Regulations on the amount of gear include limits on the numbers of traps, the number of longlines in a set, the length and width of a gillnet, and the size of trawl openings.  Limits on the use of gear include the definition of legal gear for specific fisheries, such as longline, and the prohibition of particular uses of gear, such as trawl in a defined fishing ground.  One approach is to insist that gear is tended by the vessel and lifted when it goes into port.  Such restrictions may also be sensible in order to avoid the dangerous overloading of vessels or unsound fishing practices (e.g. leaving gill nets in the water for too long). Reducing the Efficiency of Fishing Effort  It was estimated that industrial fishing is achieving a 3 per cent increase in efficiency year on year, so fishing effort must be reduced (World Ocean Review, 2013).  In the Philippines, the commercial/industrial fisheries sector made obvious shifts toward the use of bigger vessels (from 3 to 5 GT to 10-