Philippines fishing job losses among biggest in region

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines suffered one of the biggest decline in employment in the fishing sector in 2020 in Southeast Asia amid restrictions and as the pandemic dampen demand for seafood commodities.

Based on the latest report of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and Cornell University, migrant fishers and seafood processors were severely hit by COVID due to job cuts and lack of social protection.

The Philippines saw the second biggest decline in employment in fishing, next to Thailand.

For the Philippines, employment in the sector dropped by nine percent to 1.01 million, while total hours worked also slipped 18 percent.

“The pandemic hit the fishing and seafood processing industries in Southeast Asia hard, and migrant workers the hardest. Continued efforts to promote international labor standards and inclusive government policies are needed to address underlying protection gaps for workers,” the ILO said.

It said the decline in fishing employment was not largely due to pandemic-related public health measures such as temporary port closures.

ILO said slumping demand for seafood products, rather than supply problems, was the leading cause of the decline in fishing products and fisheries production.

“Fishers in the Philippines were exempt from strict quarantine requirements, but were required to undergo screening before and after fishing,” it said.

“Despite being able to go out on the water and fish, fishers faced market pressures as restaurants and seafood markets closed, and restrictions on the movement of goods and people led to a drop in seafood prices in the Philippines,” it said.

Exports of Philippine seafood products fell by 31 percent in 2020.

Combined seafood imports by Europe and the US from Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Korea and Japan went down by 14.4 percent.

Cornell University New Conversations Project executive director Jason Judd said many fishing and seafood workers in Southeast Asia had it bad, especially as labor protections and labor law enforcement—for at-home and migrant workers—have long been weak.

Further, the ILO said the pandemic has exacerbated inequalities and taken a bigger toll on the most vulnerable segments of society.