With 7,107 islands, the Philippines is known to have the longest discontinuous coastline in the world, as such total territorial water of 2,200,000 km, which is more water than its landmass. Thus, fishing is a very important industry in the country. In 1995, the Philippine ranked twelfth among the largest fish producer in the world, and fourth in terms of aquaculture production.
Accordingly, half the protein consumed by an average Filipino household is based on fish and other seafood.
In 1978 the Philippines adopted the 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone covering some 2.2 million square kilometers of fishing grounds. Relatively millions of Filipinos are into marine fishing, which is mostly small-scale fishermen using tradition, low-cost techniques, notably net fishing from small boats and the fish corral.
In the following years, dispute developed between several neighboring South East Asian counties in claim among existing islands, reefs, banks, and other features, alike Spratly Islands, Scarborough Shoal, Reed Bank and other more. It is said that these disputed locations are among the richest marine life in the world.