As the Philippines marked the 27th anniversary of Republic Act 8550, or the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, on February 17, 1998, municipal fishers are in a quandary about their future with the recent Supreme Court (SC) order allowing commercial fishing vessels to operate within 15-kilometer (km) municipal fishing grounds, which have been known to be reserved for small-scale fishers. The ruling stemmed from a petition filed by a commercial fishing company challenging the restrictions on municipal waters. RA 8550 allows municipal governments to permit commercial fishing in areas only 10.1 km to 15 km from the shoreline.

Mayuga, J. L. (2025, February 23). Commercial fishing: A bane to small fishers. Business Mirror, p. A7.