Establishment of Fisheries Refugia in Philippines:
Background and Situation Analysis to Support

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Threats, root causes and barrier analysis

1. Threats

National technical and community consultative processes in the Philippines worked to identify key threats to fish stock and critical habitat linkages. For example at Masinloc, efforts to develop co-management of coral reef areas to enhance livelihoods were noted as being constrained by the prevalence of unsustainable fishing practices, including use of cyanide in the live reef fish industry, blast fishing, and use of non-selective fishing gear and practices. Similarly at Bolinao, efforts to establish and strengthen functional linkages between and among community groups, academic institutions, with local and national government support, for the development of sustainable management systems for critical seagrass habitat identified pollution from aquaculture, push net fishing, trampling of habitat during gleaning of shellfish, and increase in fish cage culture as key threats.

The South China Sea (SCS) portion of the Philippines is geographically delimited by western Luzon, Palawan, and Mindoro Occidental, covering administrative regions I and III, and parts of Region IV and the National Capital Region (NCR). In dealing with aquatic resources in the area, especially fisheries, data constitute those obtained from the extensive coast and several embayments along western Luzon, including the Batanes Islands further north, as well as from western Palawan waters and the northern Mindoro coast. The SCS portion of the Philippines, excluding Batanes Islands, is around 50,000 km2, harbouring 16 cities and a total population of 26.3 million people. Population density in the same year stands at 472 persons/km2, with a finite growth rate of 2.1%. The area has a watershed spanning 27,500 km2, with five major rivers emptying into the SCS.

a. Threats to critical habitats:

Of the dominant coastal habitats, seagrass and coral reef habitats are among the most threatened in the Philippines. Key anthropogenic threats to seagrass habitats on the South China Sea coast of the Philippines have been ranked from most to least significant as follows: nutrient contamination of coastal waters, destructive fishing such as push nets and trawls, sedimentation from coastal development, wastewater effluent, coastal construction, and overfishing. Anthropogenic threats to coral reefs have been ranked in order of significance as: overfishing, destructive fishing practices (including blast fishing), sedimentation, nutrient pollution leading to eutrophication, and coastal development and unsustainable tourism practices. Cutting of timber for charcoal production and timber is considered the key contemporary anthropogenic threat to mangrove forests, while conversion of mangrove forests for industrial uses is a minor but persistent threat despite legislation banning all harvesting of mangroves in the Philippines. Natural threats have been identified as sea-level rise and episodic threats, including tsunamis and typhoons.

Key threats from fisheries have been categorized by the National Fisheries Committee in the Philippines as:

• The twin problems of over-capacity and over-exploitation;

• Use of destructive and/or unsustainable fishing gear and practices;

• Pollution from coastal residents and small fishing vessels;

• Habitat destruction and pollution due to fish and shrimp farming; and

• Illegal fishing

b. The twin problems of over-capacity and over-exploitation:

Over-capacity in commercial and small-scale fisheries, combined with the problem of over-exploitation, are enduring issues facing regional fisheries. The impacts of over-capitalisation and over-exploitation are magnified by the use of subsidies and the dependence of coastal communities on fish resources for income, as well as food and nutritional security. Most areas of the South China Sea coast of the Philippines are characterized by a rapid increase in the number of fishing vessels and total engine capacity (hp), and although there has been a general corresponding increase in landings, catch per unit of effort (CPUE) has declined significantly. Recent interviews with fisherfolk suggest significant reductions in yields. Rapid growth in the number of high-powered boats continues to place heavy pressure on marine resources, especially in coastal, and the subsequent diminishing returns on investment in fishing is believed to be driving the increased occurrence of destructive fishing events. For example, in the Masinloc area of the Philippines, where fishing is a primary source of income for more than 30 percent of households, over-capitalisation in commercial fisheries is contributing to the illegal encroachment of larger-scale fishing operations into municipal waters, which are areas largely managed for use by small-scale fisherfolk. This, coupled with a lack of alternative livelihoods, is thought to be the key reason why both small-scale and commercial fishers are resorting to illegal and destructive fishing practices, including blast-fishing and the use of fish poisons (cyanide) in the area. Effective management of over-capitalisation and over-exploitation of fisheries resources has been identified as an important element of achieving the desired outcomes for the management of fisheries refugia and will require effective linkage with broader efforts to curb high and increasing levels of fishing pressure in the Philippines.

c. The use of destructive and/or unsustainable fishing gear and practices:

This issue is prevalent across a range of habitat types and regions of the Philippine’s South China Sea coast. As noted above, the Bolinao and Masinloc have identified as hotspots for the use of destructive and/or unsustainable fishing gear and practice, representing a key threat to critical fisheries habitats. Examples include:

• Push netting and inshore trawl fishing cause habitat impacts and selectivity issues. Catches in these gear types from inshore waters are largely composed of juveniles, and at high fishing effort levels are thought to contribute to growth over-fishing in the area. Such a situation hinders fisheries management efforts which largely focus on development of sustainable livelihoods, and is a key threat in Bolinao where push nets are used extensively over seagrass beds to take juveniles of the economically important rabbit fish (Siganus fuscescens). S. fuscescens utilise seagrass beds as areas of refuge during critical phases of its lifecycle.

• Digging and gleaning of seagrass beds and mangrove forests is an area of concern at each of the priority refugia sites in the Philippines. Growing demand for seafood in local markets has resulted in a marked increase over recent years in the number of people digging for sipunculid worms, gastropods, and crustaceans in the seagrass beds, leading to damage of seagrass plants, de-stabilisation of sediments (and subsequent erosion), and the over-exploitation of benthic organisms. Intensive digging and grazing in some mangrove areas is considered to be contributing to the occurrence of dwarf, low-density mangrove stands at several sites due to disturbance of mangrove roots and seedlings.

• Blast fishing, poisons, and unselective fishing gears/practices is a well-known and documented threat to fisheries and habitats in nearly all areas of the Philippines. A recent 33 percent decrease in fish landings from the Masinloc area is thought be the direct result of over fishing caused by these highly effective fishing practices that often result in mortalities of a wide range of size-classes of target and non-target species, and which may contribute to both growth and recruitment over fishing. The effects of blasting on the physical structure of coral communities is of particular concern, and the occurrence of blast fishing “craters” on heavily blasted reefs is likely to have a major impact on coral reef associated fish assemblages. Non-selective fishing gears, such as trammel nets, are utilised in most fished coral reef areas along the Philippines coast. The growing need to minimise the impacts of such practices critical habitats necessitates the development of best practices in the management of these problems.

d. Pollution from coastal residents and small fishing vessels:

While this issue is well known at the community level, little action has been initiated to address this in the Philippines. Seagrass and nearshore coral reef habitats are particularly threatened by pollution from small fishing vessels and fish processing facilities, particularly in the intensively used shallow embayments of Palawan. While volumes and contaminant loadings of wastewater discharges from fish processing facilities are typically unknown, it is believed to be contributing to increased biological oxygen demand and nutrient concentrations in the coastal water areas of seagrass beds at the sites. This issue is compounded by the discharge of solid wastes generated by fishing communities into areas of coral reef and seagrass. The discharge of oils, both hydrocarbons and fish oils, from small fishing vessels is also common and is potentially a problem across all priority fisheries refugia sites in the Philippines due to the widespread nature of the small-scale fishing sector, although it is recognized that the local significance of this problem will depend on oceanographic processes at the site-level.

e. Habitat destruction and pollution due to fish and shrimp farming:

Aquaculture has been identified as a key threat to seagrass and other soft-bottom fisheries habitats in the Philippines. Seagrass communities are used for oyster grow out in many coastal areas, resulting in habitat degradation and the accumulation of deteriorating cage materials and shells in abandoned feeding areas. Similarly, of the 30 barangays of Bolinao, 20 are located in coastal areas and milkfish aquaculture has now become the major source of income for the area. Unfortunately, due to increasing demand for food in the area, the total number of fish pens and cages in Bolinao has more than doubled the allowable limit of 554 units, which was determined to be the maximum carrying capacity for the area. Milkfish production is intensive and the use of excessively high stocking densities by the majority of farmers has led to eutrophication of coastal water bodies. This has led to significant fish kills and the unused feed and fish wastes associated with the excessive use of artificial feeds has led to bottom water anoxia, the smothering of seagrass plants and dieback in some areas.

f. Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported fishing:

Particularly the use of illegal and destructive fishing gear is common in many areas of the selected sites for the establishment and operation of fisheries refugia in the Philippines. The illegal encroachment of foreign fishing vessels into national waters, and the conduct of large commercial fishing operations in inshore areas set aside for small-scale fishers is common throughout the region. However, the illegal fishing problem is complicated by poor definitions of “illegal” fishing gear and operations in fisheries law, low-level community awareness of the effects of unsustainable fisheries, and minimal resources for monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS). While this issue is being addressed by broader regional programmes operated by FAO and SEAFDEC, local application of regional guidance on IUU management in the establishment and operation of refugia sites has been identified as a priority in the Philippines.

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2. Root causes

The initial Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis conducted for the South China Sea marine basin suggested that the root cause of coastal environmental degradation was the present density and growth of coastal populations. A total of 270 million people, or 5 percent of the world’s population, live in the coastal sub-regions of the five countries. The population is concentrated in 93 cities with over 100,000 inhabitants with indicative trend of doubling of populations in 32 years. Coastal tourism, increasing fisheries development, and oil exploration and exploitation, are among the major economic ‘pull factors’ causing internal migration from poorly developed inland areas to the coast in the Philippines.

As a result of the abovementioned scenario, fisheries are critically important from the perspectives of food security and export earnings in the Philippines. These fisheries are characterised by high levels of fishing effort from the small-scale sector. Accordingly, all inshore waters of the South China Sea basin are subject to intense fishing pressure. Growing global demand for fisheries products, coupled with strong coastal community dependence on fisheries, is driving continued increases in fishing capacity and effort. The obvious impediment to the reduction of inshore fishing effort is that small-scale operators are often entirely dependent on fish for income, food and well-being, and this has resulted in the situation of stocks of nearly almost all important species being fully-fished or overexploitated. Consequently, the investment of time and household expenditure on fuel for fishing has increased in coastal communities attempting to secure adequate dietary nutrition and income from fishing.

The situation of high small-scale fishing pressure and declining fisheries resources has contributed to the adoption of unsustainable fishing methods to maintain catch and increase incomes in the short-term. As noted in section 1.3.1 above, these include the use of destructive fishing gear and practices, such as the operation of demersal trawls and push nets in seagrass areas, and the detonation of explosives and release of fish poisons in coral reef areas. Small-scale inshore fishing pressure has therefore been identified as a significant cause of the degradation and loss of coastal habitats in Philippine waters of the South China Sea. Conversely, while action aimed at reducing the rate of loss of coastal habitats has been implemented in South China Sea waters of the Philippines, the rate of loss of such habitats remains high, raising serious concerns for the long-term sustainability of small-scale fisheries in the region.

With fish production being intrinsically linked to the quality and area of habitats and the heightened dependence of coastal communities on fish, a need exists in the Philippines to improve the integration of fish habitat considerations and fisheries management in the region. The dilemma for the fisheries and environment sectors is that conservation of habitat does not necessarily result in increased fish stocks while lowering fishing effort does not necessarily result in the improvement of habitat. Therefore, given the complexity of the key threats to fish stocks, fish habitats and associated biodiversity in Southeast Asia, it is imperative that mechanisms for effective cross-sectoral consultation and coordination be established, particularly in terms of the identification and designation of priority ‘places’ for management.

In terms of environmental governance and management, the environment and fisheries are treated as separate sectors for planning and management purposes leading to:

• Overlapping or conflicting mandates between different ministries, as in the case of fisheries and environment for example, where internal mechanisms for managing the impacts of fishing practices on habitats and the physical environment do not exist;

• Problems related to an effective control of environmental degradation resulting from land-based pollution where the interface between the industrial and environmental sectors is not well developed; and

• Lack of adequate consideration of the consequence of environmental degradation and habitat loss due to ineffective means of valuing environmental goods and services, and where they exist, a failure to use such values in social cost-benefit analysis.

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3. Barriers

The Philippines’ National Committee on Fisheries has identified a need for national action to strengthen the integration of fisheries and habitat management along the South China Sea coast of the Philippines, although noted that such an initiative would be constrained by the following factors: (1) limited experience in national fisheries and environment departments and ministries with respect to the implementation of integrated fisheries and habitat management approaches; (2) limited information regarding fish life-cycles and critical habitat linkages and the role that coastal habitats play in sustaining fisheries; and (3) the low level of community acceptance of ‘protected’ area approaches to marine management in the Philippines.

To address these barriers, it has been identified that the project will:

• build the capacity of fisheries and environment departments and ministries in the Philippines to engage in meaningful dialogue regarding how broader multiple use planning can best contribute to improving the state of fisheries habitat management;

• improve understanding among stakeholders, including fisherfolk, scientists, policy makers and fisheries managers, of habitat and fishery linkages as a basis for integrated fisheries and habitat management; and

• enhance and sustain the participation of local fishing communities and the private sector in management interventions for improved fisheries habitat management and biodiversity conservation through a focus on sustainable use rather than the prohibition of fishing.

Additionally, project activities in the Philippines will address the barriers to integration by drawing on fisheries management concepts that are easily understood by fishing communities and emphasise sustainable use rather than simply the prohibition of fishing. The latter is considered is considered detrimental to efforts to harness community support for area based approaches to fisheries management in the Philippines.