Fish Be with You: The Importance of Fisheries Management

Ian Rey G. Gregorio

Fishes have been one of the staple sources of income of Filipino families, even
here in our province. Many Filipino men usually depend on marine life, and become
fishermen who go to the sea for their daily catch that they either sell or eat with their
families. That is why, there is no denying how important fisheries management is not
only to our course but to all of the Filipino families who have been relishing this marine
treasure from one generation to another.

These marine organisms have been a staple food source because they are
cheap, easy to catch and are abundant in most areas, as well as here in our island. But
a question has been ringing in the minds of people from all around the globe, and that
is, Will the ocean ever run out of fishes? Apparently, according to the Environmental
Defense Fund (2020), 80 million tons of fish are being used annually. This number is
enough to feed all of the Filipinos for 20 years. In relation to that, the Fish industry has a
total of 60 million workers and is still growing rapidly. But this data only dictates that the
fish industry is growing to the point that a time will come that it may collapse. This
decline is definitely very alarming because once the time comes where we cannot fish
anymore, many families will suffer from lack of food sources and livelihood. Many
products come from fishes and many people rely on fishes in many things, and right
now, little by little we are already observing how the number of fishes caught are
declining and how the quality of fishes have been affected by the harmful chemicals that
pollute our waters. We must learn to stop overfishing, one of the serious causes of this
crisis and continue to cherish our bodies of water, conserve our marine life and be more
mindful of our actions.

All in all, we must aim for responsible Fishery Management since we are already
pursuing the career of Fisheries. Fishery Management aims to promote thriving
fisheries, ecosystems, and communities. It also helps in preventing overfishing and
promotes stewardship. As fisheries students, we must not participate in the exploitation
of fishes but instead continue to learn to nurture our own nature, especially our marine
life. As a student pursuing this field, I have to familiarize myself with Fisheries
Management so that I can in turn be able to enrich those knowledge by using them
properly in a way that will help the oceans and our community.