Stopping illegal fishing is one of the priorities of the new director of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office, Police Colonel Roland Vilela. The provincial government wants him to focus specifically on the rich fishing grounds north of the province because it wants to ensure adequate supply of fish for the Ilonggos in a sustainable manner. Municipal governments along coasts – not only in Iloilo but across the country – must do no less. On the larger scale, constituting the country’s territorial waters is a 220-million hectare fishing ground, of which 193.4 million hectares are oceanic waters and 26.6 million hectares are in the Exclusive Economic Zone. Within it are 38,000 hectares of lush mangrove cover and 810,000 square kilometers of coral reefs, home to mangroves, coral reefs, and fish species. The utilization and development of these marine and fishery resources had been constrained by inadequate laws and the government’s lack of focused attention.

Protecting fishing grounds. (2019, September 11). Panay News, p. 8.