The United States has poured funds for the establishment of the Community Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated {IUU} Fishing Reporting Center in partnership with the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development.
The center is in Puerto Princesa City and was inaugurated last August 13.
In its press release, the US embassy in Manila said that the new facility strengthens Philippine-led efforts to combat IUU fishing, a shared economic and security threat for both the United States and the Philippines. The official announcement also confirms that the fishing reporting center is a component of the US Fish Right Project in Palawan, the island province in west Philippines that faces the South China Sea.
The launch of the Community IUU Fishing Reporting Center coincides with the 80th anniversary of U.S.-Philippines diplomatic relations and the 75th anniversary of the Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and the Philippines, underscoring the two nations’ enduring partnership in upholding international law, promoting lawful activity at sea, and advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific.
The Fish Right Project supports Philippine-led efforts to address illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in the Philippine exclusive economic zone bordering the South China Sea. It strengthens community reporting by connecting fishers’ observations with Philippine government systems, supports marine scientific research to inform decision-making, and promotes better market access for safe, legal, and sustainably sourced seafood.
Building on the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development’s existing coordination mechanisms with local and national agencies, Fish Right will integrate American technologies, such as Starlink and data visualization software EarthRanger, to strengthen connectivity, improve the collection and organization of community reports, and support timely information-sharing with Philippine authorities.
The Center will serve as a community hub for receiving and organizing real-time reports from fishermen on suspected IUU fishing, unusual vessel activity, and other illegal maritime activities. With support from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the National Maritime Center, and the Provincial Government of Palawan, these reports will be forwarded to appropriate Philippine government agencies for validation, follow-up action, and feedback to local fishing communities.
“Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing is both an economic and a national security challenge. It depletes fish stocks, disrupts supply chains, distorts markets, threatens food security, and places responsible fishers and legitimate businesses at a disadvantage,” said US Embassy Officer Taylor Fincher.
On the surface, the partnership among America, the Philippines and the private sector in fighting illegal fishing is commendable. However the US Fish Right Project also involves ``upholding international law, promoting lawful activity at sea, and advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific.`` The project also involves reporting suspicious maritime activities of certain vessels.
The use of this kind of language in this kind of tone is both concerning and an invitation to criticism. It unmasks the otherwise legitimate effort to combat illegal fishing and reveals that the fishing reporting hub will be used as eyes and ears of the US in the so-called West Philippine Sea. In the final analysis, it is the interest of the United States that will be served by the Fish Right reporting center, and not the interest of legitimate fisherfolk of Palawan.
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