US expert warns of fisheries collapse in SCS

MANILA, Philippines — Claimant countries in the South China Sea must work together to avert a fisheries collapse in the disputed waters, including conducting patrols and establishing marine protected areas, according to a US expert.

Gregory Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative and Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), presented a “Blueprint for fisheries and environmental cooperation in the South China Sea” during a roundtable discussion with government officials, diplomats, representatives from academe and fisheries experts in Makati City yesterday.

Poling said the blueprint is a joint collaboration of experts from the US, the Philippines, China, Taiwan, as well as from Canada, Europe and Australia.

Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, but Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the potentially mineral-rich contested waters. 

Poling said China and claimant countries in Southeast Asia should come up with a separate declaration to deal with the problem of declining fisheries without prejudice to their competing territorial claims.

“I think this is something China and ASEAN should recognize,” said Poling, who is visiting the Philippines as part of the US State Department-sponsored IIP Speaker Program.

“We saw the need for a separate declaration in the next decade, a cooperation on marine and shoreline, the need for a separate track to deal with this issue,” Poling said, noting that the preservation of fisheries could not merely rely on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

Among those present at the roundtable discussion – organized by the US embassy in Manila in partnership with Stratbase ADR Institute for Strategic and International Studies – were US Ambassador Sung Kim, former foreign affairs secretary Alberto del Rosario, former ambassador and STAR columnist Roberto Romulo, former national security adviser Roilo Golez and former senator Orly Mercado.

Poling said claimant countries in the South China Sea could increase the areas protected to prevent further reduction of fish stock, citing Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, the largest protected sea area in the world.

“This could be modeled after the Great Marine Park in Australia where you have a giant no-take zone. We’re saying that there are some small areas where no fishing should be allowed or maybe there are some areas where just small-scale fishing should be allowed,” he said.

Poling said the total fish stock in the South China Sea dropped from 70 to 95 percent since the 1950s, resulting in the decrease of fish catch of 66 to 75 percent.

“There is no such thing as managing your own fish stock without your neighbors doing the same. It requires multilateral efforts,” he said. – With Jaime Laude