Abstract
The paper examined the nature of Visayan Sea and identified potentially viable options to protect the fish and help fishers earn a living. The focus was on the northern Iloilo fishery, which comprises almost half of the Visayan Sea. Ten management options, identified from various sources, were presented to stakeholders (i.e., fishers, fishery scientists, and fishery managers). These options consisted of status quo, input controls (ban of commercial fishing, ban of commercial fishing with safety nets, marine protected area, closed season, reduction in the number of commercial and municipal fishers, localization, and rotational fishing regime), output control (quota), and the creation of a special management unit. The evaluation was done in two stages: Stage 1 ruled out options with no or low impact on increasing fish stocks. The options that passed stage 1 advanced to stage 2, where each option was evaluated using a set of criteria (impact on fishers, impact on the resources, feasibility, cost to the government, and impact to the community). Feedbacks from the stakeholders were obtained through focus group discussions and in-depth personal interviews. The potentially viable options (fishing bans with and without safety nets, marine protected area, reduction in the number of municipal and commercial fishers, localization and the creation of a special management unit) were discussed. This study recommends using several combinations of management options (rather than a single one) and establishing a single management body (to be pilot tested in northern Iloilo) in the implementation of any management program in all portions of the Visayan Sea and for all its fishers.
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Notes
- 1.
Local government units in the Philippines are provinces (the largest unit), which are made up of several municipalities, which are in turn made up of several barangays (the smallest unit).
- 2.
The 1991 Local Government Code (Republic Act 7160) and the 1998 Philippine Fisheries Code (Republic Act 8550, Article 1, Section 16) stipulate that municipal waters (15 km from the shoreline) are under the jurisdiction of the municipal governments. Commercial waters are under the jurisdiction of national government agencies, such as the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the Philippine Navy, Philippine Coast Guard, or Philippine National Police-Maritime Group.
- 3.
The 1998 Fisheries Code defines municipal fishing as fishing within municipal waters using fishing vessels of ≤3 gt or fishing not requiring the use of fishing vessels, while commercial fishing uses passive or active gear for trade, business, or profit beyond subsistence or sport fishing using fishing vessels greater than 3 gt.
- 4.
The policy on fishers’ classification into municipal and commercial has been in effect since the 1960s.
- 5.
No updated and accurate number of municipal and commercial fishers in the area is available. There is poor registration of municipal fishers by the LGUs and of commercial fishers by BFAR and MARINA. Armada (2004) reported 18,650 municipal fishing boats operating in the Visayan Sea and 1157 commercial fishing boats counted in different landing sites around the Visayan Sea in 1997.
- 6.
Interview with key informants from the LGU and national agencies
- 7.
From the focus group discussions with the study participants
- 8.
Personal communication with Dr. Nygiel Armada, a marine scientist who has works in the Visayan Sea
- 9.
Same perception was gathered from the study participants.
- 10.
This was his view as director of the Visayan Sea Coastal Resources and Fisheries Management Project (2002–2005) funded by GTZ. The Project aimed for a Joint Management Plan (JMP) to be formulated, adopted, and implemented by the 22 municipalities surrounding the Visayan Sea. The JMP and the project failed to address the main problem of land-based alternative sources of incomes, which drives people to fishing (VisSea Project Final Report 2005).
- 11.
Personal communication with Dr. Wilfredo Campos, a marine scientist who has works in Visayan Sea.
- 12.
This was the conclusion made by the Law of Nature Foundation and the Visayan Sea Squadron after conducting a “Reconnaissance Survey of Biological Marine Resources in Three Islands Around Visayan Sea” in 18 sites in northern Iloilo using the method from the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network.
- 13.
Copies of report from the Field Enumerator for the National Stock Assessment Project Region 6, assigned at Estancia and Fishing Port Complex, are available at the Estancia Municipal Agriculture Office and with the Coastal Resource Management Office, Municipality of Concepcion.
- 14.
They included 15 fishery managers (4 local chief executives, 2 municipal agricultural officers, 3 agriculture technician in fisheries, 1 coastal resource management officer, 2 municipal legislative council members, 2 municipal administrators, 1 municipal planning and development officer), 6 marine scientists, heads of 3 law enforcement teams (regional superintendent of the Philippine National Police Maritime Group, regional chief of the Philippine Coast Guard, and team leader of the provincial sea watch group), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources personnel (Head of Fishery Resource Management Project, Region 6; provincial field personnel). The interviews were conducted person-to-person and through questionnaires sent through electronic mails.
- 15.
The income of the crew would depend on the position in the vessel and the type of gear used.
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Ferrer, A.J.G. (2016). Fisheries Management Options for Visayan Sea, Philippines: The Case of Northern Iloilo. In: Olewiler, N., Francisco, H., Ferrer, A. (eds) Marine and Coastal Ecosystem Valuation, Institutions, and Policy in Southeast Asia. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0141-3_14
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