THE release of millions of “Epstein files” exposed the close ties of several very prominent Norwegians to the convicted child sex offender. The crown princess, a high-ranking diplomat and her husband, and a former prime minister who served as secretary general of the Council of Europe and chairman of the Nobel Committee, were found to have cozier relationships with Epstein than previously acknowledged. The scandal continues to make headlines in Norway. One could easily have missed the equally disturbing news that Norway’s fishery resource today is about half of what it was in 2013.
Fishing pressure is beyond sustainable levels for some species, Norway’s Marine Research Institute (Havforskningsinstituttet) warns in its latest assessment of fishery resources. The other major factor identified behind the drop is climate change. Rising temperatures of the ocean at different depths and at different distances from the shore affect the marine ecosystem in profound ways.
While the Marine Research Institute found that the temperature in the upper 200 meters of the ocean has increased over the last 40 years, it notes that it is the upper 20–50 meters that have seen the most significant increases, with temperatures closer to normal further below. However, for coastal waters, higher temperatures were recorded at 200 meters depth.
In the Philippine context, we know that the shallow coastal waters get warmer during the summer season. The fishes traditionally fished by local fishermen seek the cooler, deeper parts of the sea. Climate change-induced extreme heat has aggravated the situation. For the small fisherfolk, this means they have to fish ever farther from the shore.
It is interesting to note that the above-mentioned 20–50 meters translate to 10.9 to 27.3 fathoms. In the Philippines, commercial fishing vessels may be allowed by local government units to operate within the 10.1–15 km zone of municipal waters. One condition that must be met before an LGU can grant such a permit is certification by Namria that the waters are at least seven fathoms deep. Seven fathoms are 12.8 meters. While climate conditions and topography are very different in Norway, the finding by the Norwegian Marine Research Institute that the upper 20–50 meters of the ocean is significantly affected by climate change-induced rising temperatures more than suggests that the marine ecology is relatively vulnerable in such depths. It needs protection, not exploitation.
Yet, according to Oceana Philippines, among 174 LGUs that allow commercial fishing within their municipal waters, only one secured the required Namria certification that the waters opened to commercial fishing operations are of the minimum depth required by law. No wonder that Philippine capture fisheries are headed for collapse. The signs have been there for years. According to Oceana, sustainable yield or catch was breached as early as in the 1980s. Since 2010, capture fisheries production has been declining. In 2017, the National Stock Assessment Program found that exploitation rates far exceeded what was sustainable. Jonathan Anticamara and Kevin Go, in a 10-year-old study, explained that “Once exploitation rate exceeds a certain threshold, the number of collapsed species increases, and declines in total fish catch, fish stock biomass, and mean fish body size follow” (“Frontiers in Marine Science,” March 2016).
Anticamara and Go found that fish catch stagnated in most provinces in the 2000s. The authors concluded that the stagnation and later decline reflected “the depleted and overexploited status of many Philippine fish species, particularly commercially important, large-bodied reef fish species.”
Fast forward 10 years, and depletion and overexploitation continue to rule.
Yet, despite data gaps, inconsistencies in reporting and definitions, failure to comply with legal requirements, among others, the situation is not hopeless. Recovery is possible, says Oceana Philippines in its recently released assessment of governance of the Philippine fisheries sector. “The biological capacity for stock rebounding exists if fishing pressure is reduced” — though climate change and its future impacts on fish stocks have not yet been factored in. The legal framework is there — primarily the amended Fisheries Code (Republic Act 10654), while “substantial efforts are being made at multiple governance levels.” However, despite these efforts, despite the laws, despite the “policy ambition,” fisheries production continues its downward trend with no recovery in sight, while the already impoverished fisherfolk are getting poorer.
To halt the collapse and turn around the sector, Oceana recommends full implementation of the vessel monitoring system; harmonization of registration systems; completion of municipal water delineation with priority given to “regions with highest fishing pressure and incursion rates”; and strengthening of enforcement in “hotspot areas.” The local Bantay Dagat teams must be given adequate funding.
Simple, doable and straightforward recommendations that would lay the foundation for further interventions. They are not unrealistic, wishful thinking founded on dreams. Rather, Oceana’s recommendations are the sine qua non steps toward saving Philippine fisheries before it is too late. Jobs and livelihoods of thousands of families, food security of millions, are at stake.
