Marcos clarifies: Gov't not considering fishing ban

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 23) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. corrected himself on Saturday, as he clarified that his administration is not looking into imposing a fishing ban.

Marcos said he wasn't able to properly communicate himself when he stated earlier this week that the government is considering such restrictions in certain parts of the country to address overfishing.

"Hindi maganda ang pagkapaliwanag ko. Hindi fishing ban ang pinag-usapan ko [My explanation wasn't good. I didn't mean to say fishing ban]," the president said.

He added that what he meant to say was fish breeding areas should not be used as fishing sites to allow supply to increase, eventually benefitting fisherfolk.

"Pero walang fishing ban [But there's no fishing ban]," Marcos, who's also agriculture chief, stressed. "Hindi naman makakapaghanapbuhay ang tao [That will affect people's livelihood]."

A number of aquaculture and agriculture groups earlier said implementing a fishing ban – or a closed fishing season – is already being observed every year in specific areas to prevent catching fish at a rate that the breeding population couldn't replenish.