On 12 January 2018, Oceana Philippines, represented by its Vice President Atty. Gloria E. Ramos, convened a conference on “Law Enforcement and Science: Restoring Filipino Fisheries” in Quezon City, Metro Manila, that featured world renowned fisheries scientist, Prof. Daniel Pauly, among other speakers. "Overfishing destroys ecosystems and erodes food security," explained Prof. Pauly at the event.
In 2015, the Philippine Fisheries Code was amended, bolstering enforcement efforts such as requiring fishing boats to adopt vessel-monitoring technologies. The government is now looking at science-based fisheries tools like harvest-control rules and reference points, while setting stiffer penalties for fishing violators. However, enforcement hasn’t been smooth-sailing.
For this reason, the governance issues were addressed by Cornelia E Nauen, President of Mundus maris and invited to the conference to speak to this challenge. The photo shows Cornelia in animated conversation with Gloria Ramos (in red) during a break. Click here to learn more about the event.