The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said fishermen should make more use of inshore, municipal waters to boost the government’s ability to tax and modernize the industry. BFAR National Director Eduardo B. Gongona said taxing boats in undisputed Philippine waters could raise as much as P24 billion for the government, which can be used to fund upgrades to the fishing sector. “Ngayon ang battle cry namin (Our battle cry is) take care of municipal waters to take care of the whole fishing industry,” he said during the first “Kapihan at Talakayan Tungo sa Malinis at Masaganang Karagatan,” a briefing on the state of fisheries.

Galang, V. M. P. (2019, June 25). Tax haul from more inshore fishing seen at P24B. BusinessWorld, p. S1/4.