Philippine Supreme Court rules monitoring commercial fishing vessels is unconstitutional

The Philippine Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that Fisheries Administrative Order 266, which required commercial fishing vessels to continuously transmit locations and catch data, is unconstitutional, a decision announced in August 2026 though issued in January.

The court found the government failed to show the tracking system could detect illegal fishing beyond restricted zones, noted overlapping data requirements, found no clear legal basis for round-the-clock monitoring, and cited due-process failures in how the rule was adopted. Three commercial fishing companies had challenged the order in 2020, arguing it violated search protections and exposed trade secrets.

Small-scale fisher groups warn the ruling weakens the ability to detect commercial vessels illegally entering municipal waters reserved for them, with satellite monitoring by Oceana Philippines already showing 27,351 suspected intrusions in 2025. A dissenting justice warned the ruling creates a 'legal void,' and BFAR has filed for reconsideration.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.