Fishermen lambast government's inaction vs Vietnamese poachers

Fisherfolks from across the country converged at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Quezon City voicing their frustration over the government's negligence and inability to protect them from Vietnamese fishermen who regularly encroach into the Philippines' exclusive economic zone in the West Philippines Sea.

Members of Pangisda Pilipinas, an alliance of small-scale fishermen, said these Vietnamese poachers via dynamite fishing, destroying underwater marine ecosystems and drive away their fellow fishermen from their traditional fishing grounds.

"Mukhang masyadong abala ang administrasyong Marcos sa pagsugpo sa pananalakay ng China na kinalimutan na nito ang Vietnam, na ang mga mangingisda nito ay pumapasok sa ating teritoryo at pwersahang itinataboy ang ating mga mangingisda sa mga lugar kung saan sila kumukuha ng kanilang pang-araw-araw na kabuhayan,(The Marcos administration seems to be too preoccupied with countering China that it has forgotten about Vietnam, whose fishermen use Illegal dynamite fishing in our territorial waters and forcibly drive our fishermen away from areas where they get their daily livelihood.)," the group said in a statement given to media.

According to Pangisda Pilipinas, Vietnamese poachers conduct Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing has been going on for years, citing even the Yellow Card issued by the European Commission in 2017. They said the Vietnamese use cyanide and dynamite to catch fish causing irreparable damage to the marine environment thereby adversely affecting the fish catch of Filipino fishermen.

"Kung tutuusin, mas malala pa ang mga mangingisdang Vietnamese dahil palaging nilang ginagawa ang mga mapanganib at illegal ng pamamaraan ng pangingisda sa ating mismong karagatan," they said. (In fact, the Vietnamese fishermen are even worse because hundreds if not thousands of them use dangerous and illegal fishing methods in our waters.)"

The group noted that in 2018, the Department of National Defense declared that Vietnamese fishermen were the most frequent poachers in Philippine waters.

“Sana gumawa ng hakbang ang ating gobyerno para protektahan kami at ang pinagmumulan ng aming kabuhayan dahil nasa sarili nating teritoryo kung saan tayo nangingisda, (We hope our government takes steps to protect us and the source of our livelihood because it is in our territory where we fish.),” the group said.

Much depleted fishing stocks in waters close to Vietnam have pushed Vietnamese fishers to venture farther into the EEZ of the Philippines competing with Filipino fishers.

Both the Philippines and Vietnam, as well as Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei, have overlapping claims in the South China Sea. China has claimed sovereignty over most of the area citing historical grounds.

Vietnam has also undertaken island expansion in the areas in the South China Sea that it controls.

Currently, a total of 300 hectares of land in the Spratly Islands have been reclaimed by Vietnam making it the only other claimant besides China who has undertaken more island expansion in the South Cina Sea. Some of these features are also claimed by the Philippines.

According to a study, a total of 567 hectares of coral reefs from the 16 features in the South China Sea that Vietnam has occupied have been damaged due to the methods employed to conduct its island-building projects.