Philippine Environmental Health Groups call for the protection of fishery resources from chemical pollution 04.05.2021 - Quezon City, Philippines - EcoWaste Coalition
As the Month of the Ocean is observed this May, environmental health groups EcoWaste Coalition and Oceana Philippines urged the government and other sectors to give close attention to the adverse impact of chemical pollution on the country’s dwindling fishery production.
The groups’ clarion call for action to protect fish and other marine organisms from various pollutants followed the release of a new report detailing how chemical pollution is harmfully impacting the aquatic food chain, noting that “progress will require fundamental changes in the way we produce, use and manage chemicals and their associated wastes.”
A fisherman from Baseco Compound in Tondo, Manila (Photo courtesy of EcoWaste Coalition)
According to the report “Aquatic Pollutants in Oceans and Fisheries,” chemical pollution is the bigger culprit since it “compromises reproduction, development, and immune systems among aquatic and marine organisms”.
“As a fishing dependent and archipelagic nation, it is incumbent on us to insist and support global and local action that will prevent and control chemical and waste pollution from all sources, which is making the ocean ecosystems sick and incapable of meeting the huge demand for fish,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator of the EcoWaste Coalition.
The group is a participating organization of the International Pollutants Elimination (IPEN), which, along with the National Toxics Network (NTN) of Australia, published the report.