LUCENA CITY –– Quezon Rep. David Suarez was set to call for a review of the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 for its alleged failure to improve the lives of Filipino fishers.
“In my nine years as governor, I noticed that most fishermen have not improved their livelihood. I think we have to review the Philippine Fisheries Code,” Suarez, a neophyte solon, and former Quezon governor said.
Last year, Suarez filed a bill for the creation of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. The proposed law has been pending with the Committee on Government Reorganization since August.
Suarez noted that the Philippines consists of 7,100 islands, with a coastline of 36,289 kilometers.
The country’s vast marine resources include 26.6 million hectares of coastal waters, 193.4 million hectares of oceanic waters in addition to 842,247 hectares of inland waters, he added.
“Unfortunately, our fisheries production has been declining, if not sluggish, during the last decades. Our inland and coastal waters are degraded and overfished,” Suarez said in his proposed bill.
The lawmaker also claimed that the country’s investments in fisheries and aquaculture were “so minuscule that we can hardly engage in the highly competitive world markets.”/lzb