Current Situation

Overview

The Philippines

The Philippines is a country of 111 million population, with an average per capita fish consumption of 40 kg/year, significantly higher than the global average which also implies high dependence on fish as a major source of protein. In 2018, the Philippines ranked 11th in global fish production, with over 4 million metric tons of fish produced.

86% of marine fish are caught from waters within 15 km from the coastline and caught by less than 3 gross tonnage of fishing boats which are mainly subsistence and artisanal in nature. About 1.9 million Filipinos are engaged in fisheries-related industries. Fishing fleets consist of 266,140 small boats and only 7,442 commercial, industrial vessels.

Main Problem

Illegal, unreported, & unregulated fishing

Over 40% of Philippines wild caught seafood came from Illegal, Unreported, Unregulated (IUU) fishing in 2019

6.9%

Of national wild fisheries that are currently under sustainability programs and/or rated against fisheries standards.

$1.6 Billion

is lost every year due to to IUU fishing

70%

of fishing grounds are now considered overfished in the Philippines EEZ

Much of IUU activity is due to

The lack of transparency in seafood supply chains

Only 6.9% of wild fisheries are currently under sustainability programs. Despite this, sustainability programs are only concentrated on species with significant export demand. Little is known about the sustainability of seafood supplying mainly to domestic markets. This lack of transparency masks the grim reality that nearly half of the fisheries products sold in the Philippines come from IUU fishing.

What can you do?

Increase compliance in supply chains with responsible seafood sourcing.

Responsibly Sourced Seafood

Reduce IUU Fishing

RSS supports actions that address and reduce IUU fishing through adherence to environmentally and socially-responsible seafood standards.

Locally Sources Products

Leveraging the influence of mid-chain and top-end supply chain players to push down improvements in fishing and sourcing practices.

Responsible practices

Committing to RSS means understanding the impacts of goods & services, and consciously shifting to better practices to minimize adverse impacts

Consumer Transparency

Informing consumers about their seafood choice and the effects of their consumer decisions. RSS provides increased transparency.

Learn more about your seafood by assessing your supply chain

Write us for a free consultation

info@betterseafoodph.org

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Better Seafood Philippines

BSP is a USAID-funded initiative implemented by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership under the FishRight program. The Fish Right Program is a five-year partnership between the Government of the Philippines and the United States government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), to improve marine biodiversity and the fisheries sector in three marine key biodiversity areas. The program runs from 2018 to 2023.

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