As an archipelagic country, the maritime industry plays a critical role in moving goods and people across the more than 7,000 islands, as well as linking the Philippines to international trade and commerce. The maritime industry therefore serves as an integral component of the country’s socioeconomic development and in establishing linkages to the economic growth areas in the East Asian region and beyond. The ports and shipping sector in particular is one of the key ocean-based industries that contributed 12 per cent of the gross value added of the country’s ocean economy in 2016 or around USD 1.4 billion (in constant 2012 prices) employing around 700 thousand people. Of the 1,300 ports in the country, 1,000 are government owned and the rest are privately owned. In addition to seaports, which serve as major hubs for international and domestic/interisland cargo and passenger vessels, there are also fish ports, feeder ports or commercial ports located in many coastal areas around the country. Fish ports, which are also referred to as landing centers provide the facilities for the distribution of fish (PEMSEA and DENR, 2019).