Bycatch Management and Discard Reduction Strategies National Report - Philippines

Abstract

Capture fisheries in the Philippines is administratively divided into commercial and municipal sectors on the basis of vessel gross tonnage. As defined in the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, commercial fisheries include fishing operations that use vessels of over 3 gross tons (GT). Municipal fisheries, on the other hand, involve the use of vessels of 3 GT or less, including operations that do not involve the use of fishing boats. Municipal fisheries roughly translate to traditional, artisanal or small-scale fisheries, while the commercial fisheries correspond to the industrial or large-scale type fisheries.