A Zamboanga-based group has opposed a new law requiring monitoring and surveillance devices to be installed in commercial fishing vessels, saying that the move will entail additional costs. The Southern Philippines Deep Sea Fishing Association, Inc. (SOPHIL) is opposing the provision in Republic Act (RA) No. 10654 which has amended the Fisheries Code, its President Leonardo Y. Tan said. “The problem there is that the [government] wants to monitor us,” Mr. Tan said in Filipino during a phone interview last week. “[The government] wants to place an observer to check whether fishers are in legal waters. At the same time, the fishing sector will shoulder the allowances, the insurance.”

Monzon, A. M. (2015, April 6). Monitoring devices in fishing vessels opposed. Manila Standard, p. S1/11.