Comparative Legal Analysis of the NIPAS Law
The NIPAS Law and the Philippine Fisheries Code
n The creation of a multi-sectoral
The NIPAS Law and the Philippine Fisheries Code
recommendatory body – the Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management Councils (FARMCs) – in different levels of government.13
(Republic Act No. 8550) The salient points of the Fisheries Code of 1998
Salient points of the Fisheries Code
Assessment
n Features a co-management approach
in the establishment of a framework for the development, management and conservation of the nation’s fisheries.
Under the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 or Republic Act No. 8550, the equivalent of the PAMB is the Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management Councils (FARMCs) at various levels of government.14 The creation of the various FARMCs is one of the salient features of RA 8550, along with the following: decentralization of municipal waters to LGUs15; the expansion of municipal waters from seven (7) to fifteen (15) kilometers from the general coastline,16 beyond which are considered commercial waters; and the reconstitution of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) under the Department of Agriculture (DA) as the lead agency in fishery resource management. 17
n Exploitation of the country’s fishery
resources on a limited access basis only, with food security as the overriding consideration in its utilization, management, development, conservation and protection.8
n Municipal fisherfolks’ preferential use
of municipal waters on the basis of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) or total allowable catch (TAC), depending on the availability of resources in the area.9
n Decentralization of municipal waters to LGUs 10
n Expansion of municipal waters from
seven (7) to fifteen (15) kilometers from the general coastline11, beyond which are considered commercial waters
n The reconstitution of the Bureau of
Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) under the Department of Agriculture (DA) as the lead agency in fishery resource management12
Section 2, RA 8550 Section 2, RA 8550 10 Section 16, RA 8550 11 Section 4, par. 58 of RA 8550 12 Sections 63-67, RA 8550 13 Sections 69-70; Section 73; Section 76 of RA 8550 14 Sections 69-70; Section 73; Section 76 of RA 8550 15 Section 16, RA 8550 16 Section 4, par. 58 of RA 8550 17 Sections 63-67, RA 8550 8
9
An In-Depth Review of the Nipas Law and Related Statutes on the Establishment and Management of Protected Areas in the Philippines
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