To Overseas Start Page

The Online Magazine for Sustainable Seas

April, 2007, Vol. 9 No. 2

Municipal fisheries registration and licensing in the Philippines: Review of existing laws and
implementation systems

Excerpted from “Development of National and Local Government Fisheries Registration and
Licensing Frameworks for the Philippines: Registration and Licensing Frameworks for the
Municipal Capture Fisheries Sector of the Philippines”, prepared for the FISH Project by
Jose Padilla, Rina Rosales, Paz Benavidez and Eunice Agsaoay-Sano, Resources,
Environment and Economics Center for Studies, Inc. The full document can be downloaded
here.

Fisheries registration and licensing are the cornerstones of all fisheries management
schemes. The Philippines has, as a matter of national policy, enacted appropriate laws
towards registration and licensing in the municipal fisheries sector. The implementation of
these laws has become more relevant in recent years with the rapid and continued depletion
of municipal fishery resources, degradation of coastal habitats and the consequent poverty
in the coastal areas.

Registration and licensing are tools to regulate entry into the fishery that have to be
complemented by other measures to regulate fishing activities. In the context of current legal
framework, registration is distinct from licensing. In registration, fishers are required to
furnish the local government specific information before they can be lawfully allowed to
engage in fishing activities. This information is intended to feed policy and regulatory
processes for the municipal fisheries sector. In licensing, fishers are granted the right to gain
access to the fishery resources and to engage in fishing activities.

Municipal fisheries registration and licensing have been embodied in Philippine fisheries
laws and policies since 1932 and in the current Philippine Fisheries Code3 (RA 8550).
However, there appears to have been significant challenges in the implementation of these
policies and legislation. Registration and licensing in the municipal sector have been limited
in varying degrees and have remained deficient with the absence of enabling ordinances.