As the Visayan Sea reopened to commercial fishing on February 16, militant fisherfolk group PAMALAKAYA-Panay launched a scathing attack on the government’s three-month closed season policy, branding it a “failure” that disproportionately punishes small fishers while allowing commercial operators to continue exploiting marine resources. In a statement issued following the lifting of the ban under Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) No. 167, the group argued that the decades-old conservation measure has become outdated and ineffective, failing to reverse declining national fish production while deepening poverty among municipal fisherfolk.

Visayan Sea ban punishes small fishers, spares commercial vessels – fisher group. (2026, February 25). Panay News, pp. 2, 14.