THE SITUATION unfolding in Concepcion, Iloilo offers a lesson the government can no longer afford to miss: protecting fisheries does not mean choosing between enforcement and empathy — it means delivering transition, not tolerance.
For years, authorities have warned that fine-mesh nets like “sinsoro” are destructive, indiscriminately catching juvenile fish and accelerating the depletion of stocks in the Visayan Sea, as reported by this paper recently. The science is settled. The law is clear. Yet illegal practices persist, often excused in the name of livelihood.
That excuse has run its course.
Livelihood concerns are real. In Concepcion – and other coastal municipalities – fishing feeds families, pays school fees, and anchors entire communities. Abrupt enforcement without alternatives would indeed be unjust. But neither is it just to allow illegal gear to continue destroying the very resource those livelihoods depend on. Tolerance, disguised as compassion, only postpones the crisis — and makes the eventual reckoning more painful.
What is needed now is decisive transition.
Government agencies, led by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, must fast-track viable, legal alternatives for affected fishers. This means moving beyond consultations and timelines toward concrete support: funding for legal fishing gear, expanded aquaculture programs, training in sustainable methods, and assistance for fisheries-based enterprises such as processing, cold storage, and value-added products. These solutions are already proven elsewhere and must be scaled up where the need is urgent.
Local government units, for their part, must ensure that enforcement is firm, consistent, and free from political hesitation. Illegal fishing cannot be treated as a negotiable offense. Municipal waters are public resources, not private fallback options when compliance becomes inconvenient. Marine protected areas must remain sanctuaries, not postcards.
At the same time, transition requires trust. Fishers must see that compliance leads somewhere — that choosing legal methods opens doors rather than closes them. This is where coordination matters: BFAR, LGUs, academic institutions, and financing agencies must work as one, not in silos, to make sustainable livelihoods both accessible and attractive.
Concepcion, Iloilo’s experience offers both a warning and an opportunity. Delay will only deepen fish stock decline and harden resistance. Action — swift, fair, and well-supported — can still reverse the trend.
The message must be unequivocal: government will help fishers shift, but it will no longer look the other way. Transition is the path forward. Tolerance is the road to empty seas.
