Role of the Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture in the Formulation of Marine Conservation Policies: A Review

Abstract

The Philippine total fishery production increased from 3.68 million metric tons in 1993 to 6.53 million metric tons in 2010 and declined to 6.14million metric tons in 2012. Per capita consumption from 1999 to 2000 was at 26.32 kilograms and declined to 14.25 kilograms in 2008 to 2009 before it increased again to 18.27 kilograms in 2012. Moreover, the Import-Dependency Ratio (IDR) indicated that most of the country’s consumption was still dependent on local production, while the computed Self-Sufficiency Ratio (SSR) showed that the major economically important fish species of the country is self-sufficient.

Amidst all these dependence on marine fishery resources, it has been recognized that it is overexploited, and overlapping activities or mandates of government agencies, and delayed implementation of Section 108 of the Philippine Fisheries Code appears to exacerbate the problem. This study investigated the role of the Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture (CFA), a private sector-led network, in the formulation of responsive resolutions and policies related to management and conservation of marine fishery resources.

This study has shown that the CFA, though serving on a voluntary basis, has definitely contributed to the formulation of responsive policies to address emerging issues of the sector. This is reflected by the number of resolutions and policy recommendations they have passed, and their persistence in addressing the issues besetting the sector. The CFA helped the government in the creation of guidelines in the selection of fisherfolk settlement areas, fisherfolk, and creation of a task force for the implementation of Section 108 of the Fisheries Code of the Philippines. Moreover, the efforts exerted by the CFA to address the issue in the overexploitation of the fisheries resources led to the establishment of the National Stock Assessment Program (NSAP) of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

Country position papers and policy briefs such as: Proposed International Instrument for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity Beyond Areas of National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), were also prepared and endorsed to the DA and other agencies. The country’s positions to international conventions were obtained through a series of consultative meetings with the private sectors. The positions were used as reference by the Philippine representatives to the international conventions.

However, the CFA has weak coordination and collaboration with the other policy making body of the government, within and outside of the Department of Agriculture (DA). The collaboration of the CFA with the Agricultural and Fishery Councils (AFCs) and the Local Government Units (LGUs) at the local levels are also weak, thus delaying the exchange of information and actions that could have resulted to better formulation of policies.

Within Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF), there is a need to strengthen the linkage of the NSCs with the AFCs, as they are both private sector led-networks of DA which could expedite the exchange of information and lead to a more responsive resolutions and policies. Likewise, the coordination and collaboration of the CFA should continue to strengthen and maintain its on-going collaboration with the other government agencies thru conduct of inter-agency meetings and consultations for better policy formulation.