The Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998

(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to catch, take or gather or cause to be caught, taken or gathered, fish or any fishery species in Philippine waters with the use of electricity, explosives, noxious or poisonous substance such as sodium cyanide in the Philippine fishery areas, which will kill, stupefy, disable or render unconscious fish or fishery species: Provided, That the Department, subject to such safeguards and conditions deemed necessary and endorsement from the concerned LGUs, may allow, for research, educational or scientific purposes only, the use of electricity, poisonous or noxious substances to catch, take or gather fish or fishery species species: Provided, further, That the use of poisonous or noxious substances to eradicate predators in fishponds in accordance with accepted scientific practices and without causing adverse environmental impact in neighbouring waters and grounds shall not be construed as illegal shing.

It will likewise be unlawful for any person, corporation or entity to possess, deal in, sell or in any manner dispose of any fish or fishery species which have been illegally caught, taken or gathered.

The discovery of dynamite, other explosives and chemical compounds which contain combustible elements, or noxious or poisonous substances, or equipment or device for electro- shing in any shing vessel or in the possession of any fisherfolk, operator, fishing boat official or fishworker shall constitute prima facie evidence, that the same was used for shing in violation of this Code. The discovery in any shing vessel of fish caught or killed with the use of explosive, noxious or poisonous substances or by electricity shall constitute prima facie evidence that the fisherfolk, operator, boat official or fishworker is fishing with the use thereof.

(2) Mere possession of explosive, noxious or poisonous substances or electrofishing devices for illegal shing shall be punishable by imprisonment ranging from six (6) months to two (2) years.

(3) Actual use of explosives, noxious or poisonous substances or electrofishing devices for illegal shing shall be punishable by imprisonment ranging from five (5) years to ten (10) years without prejudice to the ling of separate criminal cases when the use of the same result to physical injury or loss of human life.

(4) Dealing in, selling, or in any manner disposing of, for profit, illegally caught/gathered fisheries species shall be punished by imprisonment ranging from six (6) months to two (2) years.

(5) In all cases enumerated above, the explosives, noxious or poisonous substances and/or electrical devices, as well as the shing vessels, shing equipment and catch shall be forfeited.

he fishworkers shall be entitled to the privileges accorded to other workers under the Labor Code, Social Security System and other benefits under other laws or social legislation for workers: Provided, That fishworkers on board any shing vessels engaged in fishing operations are hereby covered by the Philippine Labor Code, as amended.

Foreign fishing vessels wishing to avail of land, air and sea facilities available in the Philippines to transport fishery products which are caught outside Philippine territorial waters to its final destination shall call only at duly designated government owned or -controlled regional fishport complexes after securing clearance from the Department.

The LGU shall maintain a registry of municipal fisherfolk, who are fishing or may desire to fish in municipal waters for the purpose of determining priorities among them, of limiting entry into the municipal waters, and of monitoring fishing activities an/or other related purposes: Provided, That the FARMC shall submit to the LGU the list of priorities for its consideration. Such list or registry shall be updated annually or as may be necessary, and shall be posted in barangay halls or other strategic locations where it shall be open to public inspection, for the purpose of validating the correctness and completeness of the list. The LGU, in consultation with the FARMCs, shall formulate the necessary mechanisms for inclusion or exclusion procedures that shall be most beneficial to the resident municipal fisherfolk. The FARMCs may likewise recommend such mechanisms. The LGUs shall also maintain a registry of municipal 􀂠shing vessels by type of gear and other boat particulars with the assistance of the FARMC.