‘Philippines fisheries near collapse as 45 million kilos lost annually’

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February 5, 2026 | 12:00am

Weak law enforcement, governance

MANILA, Philippines —  The country’s fisheries sector is facing “imminent” collapse as it loses at least 45 million kilos of fish annually due to weak law enforcement and failed governance, according to a conservation group.

International group Oceana estimated in its new study that the Philippine fisheries sector is in “freefall” as the country recorded an almost 600,000-metric-ton decline in its national output from 2010 until 2023.

Oceana emphasized that the supply loss has socioeconomic impact since fish remains as the country’s primary source of protein while more than 350,000 fishing families fell below the poverty line in 2023.

“This is a national food security emergency,” said Oceana vice president Von Hernandez. “Our fisheries are being emptied, and with them, the livelihoods and food sources of millions of  Filipinos.”

Hernandez called on President Marcos to reverse this alarming supply trend by investigating and holding to account the government officials and vested interests responsible for this “gross neglect.”

Hernandez pointed out that the government must ensure proper enforcement of science-based recovery measures as well as implementation of pertinent laws such as penalizing commercial fishing fleets in municipal waters.

The Oceana-commissioned study was conducted by scientists from the University of the Philippines-Visayas.

One of the key findings of the study was that 88 percent of fish stocks nationwide are already overfished and depleted, with nationwide fish catch falling to 1.9 million MT in 2023 from 2.6 million MT in 2010.

“Our fishers are the ones putting food on our table, yet they are the ones going hungry and struggling from poverty,” Hernandez said, noting that 353,190 fishing families live below the poverty line while another 93,030 families are deemed food-poor.

Furthermore, encroachment by commercial fishing vessels in municipal waters covered almost 25 hectares of water from 2017 to 2024 across 270,165 night lights, the Oceana official said.

The declining catch also comes at a time that the Filipino fishermen are getting old. The average Filipino fisherman is now 49 to 52 years old, the Oceana study said, noting that younger Filipinos are abandoning the industry  due to paltry monthly income of P2,500 to P7,000.

Alice Joan Ferrer, executive director of Too Big To Ignore Philippines and vice-chancellor of UP Visayas, pointed out that the country has sufficient laws to curb overfishing and illegal fishing in the country but they must be properly implemented to safeguard small Filipino fisherfolk.