Strategies for Coastal Resource Management and Rehabilitation
Introduction
The strategies for CRM are many depending on the site and the particular problems of management. Highlighted here are several strategies for solving some of the management issues existing in the Philippines, namely:
1. municipal marine parks and reserves
2. limiting fishing effort
3. artificial reefs or habitat
4. mangrove reforestation
The above strategies are explained below and references are made to on-going projects in the country where they assisted to implement small-scale CRM plans.
1. Municipal marine parks and reserves
One of the most successful strategies is that of municipal reserves where there is some form of limited entry to and guidelines for uses in special zones within the marine reserve.
A marine reserve constitutes a defined space to which specific forms of management are applied which normally includes limited entry. On the other hand, a marine park is a specialized version of a marine reserve where various uses are encouraged which emphasized education, research and preservation, sometimes implemented by zonation schemes.
The function of marine parks and reserves are enumerated as follows:
a. intensive management of specific areas
b. protect ecosystems, habitat, processes of biotic diversity and species
c. sustain yields and productivity
d. protect aesthetic qualities
e. protect cultural sites and values
f. used for education and research
g. used for recreation and tourism
Although all the above functions can be attributed to marine parks and reserves, in the Philippines the main motivation for setting up municipal marine reserves and parks is to enhance fishery yields and to rehabilitate marine ecosystems and habitat.
1.1. Principal steps in the design of a coastal or marine protected areas.
In all marine protected areas or marine parks and reserves there is what is called a core area which is the same as the sanctuary. The core or sanctuary is always within the practical limitations, chosen on the grounds of the relatively good quality of the marine habitat. All thing being equal, a more productive areas or more intact habitat area should be selected as a core area. The surrounding areas or buffer zone will then benefit from the relative productivity of the core. In the Philippines, the model is usually a sanctuary surrounded by a traditional fishing ground where no destructive methods are allowed. The surrounding area of the core should have representative habitats so that the total reserve has all major habitat represented. The sanctuary is a strictly protected area where no fishing or collecting is allowed.
Sanctuaries, one protected for at least two years will harbor a large number of fish which will reproduce and eventually migrate outside of the sanctuary. In this way, sanctuaries serve as gene pool or replenishment area for outlying areas of the reserve. The long-term effect is to increase the fish yields of fishermen in areas outside of the sanctuary. But it is also important that all destructive methods be stopped in the vicinity of the marine reserve and sanctuary.
1.2. Example of Municipal marine reserves and sanctuaries in the Philippines.
A good example of municipal marine reserve and sanctuary is Apo island near Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental. This municipal reserve includes a sanctuary on the southeast side where no fishing or collecting is permitted. The remainder of the island is within the reserve area where only traditional and ecologically sound fishing activities are allowed. In this reserve, all fine mesh nets, spear fishing on scuba, Muro-ami and kayakas fishing as well as other illegal methods are totally banned; and the area is being patrolled by local management committee.
Another example is Sumilon Island under the jurisdiction of Oslob, Cebu in which management implementation for a municipal reserve was considered as off basis. Such situation occurred for Sumilon because after some time of protection, intense fishing operations occurred in the sanctuary. The story behind this violation pertains to local political changes which were not aware of the value of the conservation and management efforts at the site. In 1988, the program was revived, and now the island is again protected.
Fish yields on the two islands increased from the implementation of marine reserves and sanctuaries over the years. In the case of Sumilon Island, as was mentioned above, the sanctuary was violated in the late 1984 and caused an overall decrease in fish catch. In both cases, the fishermen at the sites agreed that the fish catch had increased significantly and were supportive of the program.
On the other hand, abundance of fishes in both sanctuaries increased dramatically with management. The case of Sumilon was reversed in ap84 during the violation but again reversed in 1988 when protection was again given to the island.
Another recently implemented marine reserve is San Salvador in Zambales province. In 1988, this island became a municipal marine reserve of the town of Masinloc. The island has a 126 ha sanctuary, the largest municipal sanctuary in the Philippines, and is surrounded by a 500 m reserve boundary. This island community-based project continues with the direction of the community.
Before the implementation of the project, the island reef although with generally good coral cover has very little fish population since it had been heavily fished with many methods including dynamiting, use of cyanide and fine mesh nets in the shallow reef flats. Presently, the sanctuary is being monitored for fish abundance and diversity to evaluate the changes over a two year period of initial implementation. Initial findings show that the fish abundance increased significantly during the first year.
Similar to other marine reserve protects in the Visayas, the community has played an active ole in the formation of the marine reserve. Sign boards and information materials had been put up in obvious places on the island and the people actively patrol the reserve. Also, a marine management committee had been formed which will be responsible for all management decisions and actions in the reserve.
To boost the conservation effort of the island, a municipal ordinance was passed to ban collection of aquarium fish around the island because of the bad reputation of the fishermen, who have often used sodium cyanide. Recently, there have been intensive trainings to convert the cyanide fishermen to use barrier nets for aquarium fish. This has been successful in that now essentially all the fishermen have promised not to use said poison. They are now convinced that the poison destroys the very habitat needed to support their fish.
Further, the San Salvador project has received active support of the town mayor. He visits the island often and has even donated a boat through the municipal government for use by the community to patrol the reserve. This support of the municipal government has been important in the overall success and will help to sustain the program after the initial project implementation.
2. Limiting fishing efforts
Another general strategy which needs to be considered in most inshore areas of the Philippines is the limitation of fishing effort in one form or another. Fishing effort has grown beyond the sustainability of the resource so that it must be scaled back. Limits to effort come in the form of:
a. license, right to fish
b. economic disincentives (taxes, cost of entry)
c. territorial use rights in fisheries (TURF’s)
d. municipal control
e. limited access
f. area closure, sanctuaries, seasons.
Of the above enumerated approaches, few have been successful in the Philippines except possibly limited entry through municipal marine parks and reserves. Licenses have not been effectively used except for some limits on commercial fishing effort. Two scenarios can be sited to illustrate these strategies:
2.1. Open access fishing regime of a Philippines island
In essence, there are no limits on small-scale fishing efforts in the Philippines. The result is that catch per unit efforts has declined to a point where today the average fishermen barely catches enough to feed his family in many inshore areas. Most such areas are severely over-fished. This is a tragedy of open access fishing where there are no controls on the number of fishermen, their efforts o timing. Everyone losses in this situation because the total catch is much smaller that it could be and each individual catch very small.
2.2. Controlled access fishing regime for a Philippine island
A possible solution to limiting the amount of fishing effort and for encouraging more local responsibility in controlling gears used, is to limit access by municipal boundaries. Such a system, analogous to territorial use rights in fisheries, would have the effect limiting the mobility of small-scale fishermen to their own territorial waters. Within municipal boundaries, it might then be necessary to issue licenses to limit the total number of fishing boats. Although this system is not yet operational, it is considered in the Lingayen Gulf area in Region I.
2.3. Artificial reefs (ARs) or Artificial Habitat
Artificial reefs are commonly understood to serve as a means of habitat enhancement. In actuality, it is not well documented that ARs really do enhance habitat. Rather, most essentially a show that ARs simply aggregate fish or are essentially a supplementary fishing ground. ARs make it easier for fishermen to find and catch fish. The problem with this is that in over-fished areas, ARs increase the level of overfishing if not managed properly. ARs are commonly known to be a deterrent to bottom trawling because they snag the nets. Thus, in some countries like Thailand, the main reason to deploy concrete ARs is to discourage trawling in shallow inshore areas.
This section presents an overview of ARs and will try to answer some of the questions about ARs as a means of habitat enhancement as opposed to fish attracting devices.
Most As in the Philippines have been constructed with old tires. Tires have been proven to be effective in that they are usually free, easy to transport and chemically stable in marine waters. The disadvantage of tires is that they are light and need to be weighted and are vulnerable to storm because of waves action, even as deep as 20 meters. They also need to be tied together properly so that they do not eventually lie flat on the bottom. Although the potential for tire reefs is good, many tire reefs in the Philippines have not been designed according to their limitations and ended up buried in the sand or washed away by storm waves.
When tire reefs designed and placed at the right depth, it can endure for many years and eventually provide the substrate for a new coral reef. In the documentation of the oldest tire reef in the Philippines, it has been shown that the 13 year old tire reef has been totally covered with coals and other encrusting animals and seaweeds making it look like almost the same as coral reef. Majority of the fish inhabiting this reef are residents which have established their community in the AR. In this case, it can be said that habitat enhancement has occurred from the placement of ARs. This reef has been monitored for tenyears for fish catch harvested by fish traps placed adjacent to the reef. There has been a consistent catch using only this method so that the resident fish population has not been over-fished o damaged by destructive methods.
Artificial reef function in the following manner:
1. increase habitat space and surface area for marine organisms to attach and colonize and
2. attract fish and other organisms and eventually increase biomass of fish and other marine life once reproduction occurs within the newly formed habitat.
The main point to remember about artificial reefs is that initially, they only aggregate fish. Later, after they have established a viable new habitat with many marine animals as residents, they can increase the biomass of fish. In this regard, ARs are often misused because even though they are thought to increase total fish catch in the area, all they really do is attract fish from other areas. Thus management of the ARs is essential to prevent further overfishing of an area.
Bamboo has been successfully used for AR construction in communities where the fishermen are willing to renew the material every three to four years. But, since bamboo is not durable beyond this period, it is generally not considered for habitat enhancement. Rather, it is only useful as a fish attracting device and should only be used as such.
Small pelagics are not normally caught in the vicinity of ARs placed on the bottom near the shore. Fish attracting devices (FADs) placed near the surface in offshore areas attract these fish. In recent years, the importance of the fishery for small pelagics has increased as fishermen venture into deeper waters. As a result, FADs or “payaos” have come into use to catch these fish. “Payaos” have become very common in some deep water channels in the Philippines. They are used to attract tuna, jacks, mackerel and other small pelagics so that they are gathered into small area for capture. Gear used to catch fish near “payaos are usually hook and line, and purse seine type nets. The problem with “payaos” is that they are unregulated and cause overfishing of some species. They can effectively be used to enhance the catch of small-scale fishermen who have access to “payaos” but they can also be taken advantage of by commercialize boats.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has played a very active role in the development of ARs in the Philippines beginning late 1970s to the present. It has disseminated much education materials on ARs, assisted in their site selection and deployment and monitored some of these AR projects in the country. But even with all these efforts, there remains a lot of room for the improvement of the present program specifically in the proper use of ARs for habitat enhancement and fishery management.
To summarize the role of ARs in the CRM, they should be used as much as possible to enhance and extend habitat and not only to attract fish. They will only exacerbate overfishing if not deployed with some controls on their use. They should sometimes be placed in sanctuaries to ensure that they really enhance habitat and increase fish biomass in the long term. Now, the tendency among community groups is to construct ARs and allow all fishermen to fish on the reef. This kind of open access regime only defeats the potential benefits from ARs.
3. Mangrove Reforestation
An important strategy for reforestation of coastal areas is the replanting of mangrove trees in old habitat sites. This portion of FSP work will come under the mandate of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and will be implemented through community-based mangrove reforestation projects as an integral part of the bay CRM plans.
Many benefits come from mangrove forest. Mangroves provide:
a. coastal protection
b. human livelihoods
c. habitat and/or food for many plants and animals
The importance of mangrove ecosystems in the coastal areas has been emphasized above. The main benefits from mangroves are those of natural productivity which support a food chain leading to many fishery species such as shrimp, crabs and some fish; coastal protection through their through their barrier effect and livelihoods in the form of sustainable wood cutting and collecting of products from plants themselves.
The trade-off between value of replacing mangrove habitat with other uses such as shrimp ponds and maintaining a sustainable use regime of the system is now being evaluated. It has been determined in the Philippines that the value of harvestible products from a one hectare equivalent of mangrove forest and its nutrients over one year is more than Php10,000.00. Thus those destroy it should think twice.
In summary of CRM and its strategies, it is necessary to remember that integration is the key. All activities in coastal areas which impact the environment and its resources in any manner should be considered in CRM planning. Watershed deforestation and erosion cannot be excluded from planning. The various actors and resource users must also be considered. They may be industries, small-scale fishermen, shipping and many more. Political groups, both government and non-government should be included in the planning. CRM planning is holistic in nature and sets priorities for what is practical to accomplish and what is effective.
If we work together, CRM planning with its strategies of marine sanctuaries and reserves, improved law enforcement and communication, artificial reefs, alternative livelihoods and more will provide the hope to the rehabilitation and management of the valuable coastal and fishery resources of the Philippines. New approaches and renewed political and personal will is needed to implement such a program. If well planned and implemented, it will have along-term beneficial impact. At this stage, planning is important, it should be done carefully and cautiously.
Implementing CRM Plans and Projects
Introduction
The key to the success of any CRM projects and its implementation is how well it is received by the coastal community. Coastal community refers to the regional and municipal officials, non-government groups, fishermen and the residents in general. They are the main beneficiaries of the CRM program and the fate of their resources depends on them. There is need for coordination among the groups so that the limits of the bay area are considered in the overall level of resource exploitation.
The approaches to be used in the implementation of CRM plans are crucial to their success. These approaches are consistent with the theme of FSP which encourages the participation of local government and community-based organizations in resource management.
Thus, the approaches are:
1. Community-Based Resource Management
Community-based management is really founded on community accountability and responsibility. It has been shown that when communities are allowed to take responsibility, they often become guardians of their own resources.
Community-based resource management is necessary since there exist local variability, local knowledge and skills, and local accountability. It involves five essential activities or phases. These are integration, education, core group building, building responsibility and formalizing the community role in resource management activities. These five phases typically include integration of field workers for community organization.
1.1. Integration
During the integration process, many informal meetings are held with people throughout the community to introduce the project and for the field workers to become known and trusted. It is also an opportunity for the community workers to learn about the community residents, their attitudes, problems and proposed solutions. Total immersion of the community workers in the area is absolutely necessary to ensure the success of the projects. They should develop their time and full involvement in the field site. It is important that they become totally immersed in the community while still maintaining their objectivity and ability to see problems in a broad context. Although the community benefits tremendously from their presence, it is important that they do not allow the community to become overly dependent on them. Their role is to facilitate.
It is in this phase where baseline data n socioeconomics, demography, community profile, and the environment are collected.
1.2. Education
Low awareness of the importance of resource and poor understanding of environmental issues were identified as some of several obstacles to sustainable development. Therefore, it is necessary to promote environmental awareness among the constituents of the community to assure the acceptance of the CRM project as well as participation in the management process.
A variety of educational approaches may be used in CRM such as formal or non-formal lectures, slide shows, posters, brochures, particularly training, comedy plays or role acting, field trips, etc.
1.3. Core group building for resource management
Core groups grow out of the many activities supported by the projects. Once the core management is formed, the community field workers coordinate closely with the officers of this body. Normally, the members of the management group who are often informal leaders in the community are influential.
1.4. Building responsibility around beneficial projects
1.5. Formalizing community role in resource management
As an example, formal ceremonies which include local and regional government officials are important to credit accomplishments of the project in the eyes of the community residents. Such ceremonies are held to inaugurate structures, the marine park, election of management committee, some training events, launching of brochures.
2. Improved Law Enforcement
The improvement of law enforcement needs to be emphasized in conjunction with community-based resource management efforts. Communities need outside support to implement the regimes agreed to among themselves. They are sometimes helpless against organized illegal fishermen or commercial fishing operations. Also in areas where illegal and destructive fishing is rampant, peer pressure against such activities will not evolve without the support of the law enforcers. Training and better communications should be the main theme for improving enforcement.
CONCLUSION
The approaches to CRM which have been enumerated highlight the need to work through coastal communities whenever possible. It is concluded that without good participation of communities, the success of CRM will be limited. One means to ensure the participation of communities is to show them what benefits can be derived from improved coastal resource management. And, when such benefits start to accrue at the local level, the management regimes will be reinforced in a self-sustaining manner.
Coastal Resource Management (CRM) Plan of the ASEAN Region
ASEAN Regions Involved in the CRM Plan
Six Asean countries, namely: the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand have developed CRM Plan for specific sites.
1. Philippines
In the Philippines, a CRM plan has been developed for Lingayen Gulf under the ASEAN-CRM Project as a result of 3 years of research and planning activities although the field implementation of the plan has not been formally begun.
Overfishing is a serious problem in Lingayen Gulf. The fishing effort is more than double what it should be for sustainable use of the fishery. An initial recommendation of the plan for this problem is to ban all commercial operations of the gulf. This will provide more catch for the small-scale fishermen. However, this is only a short-term solution because eventually, fishing effort will again surpass the sustainable limit.
2. Brunei
Sand mining has been done in many of the beaches along coastal areas as well as in the offshore areas of Brunei. This resulted to severe erosion. The CRM plan for this problem is the prohibition of coastal sand mining and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) are required for mining in all areas. It was also recommended that offshore sand mining be banned.
Many residents of Brunei live in houses over water in Brunei bay. The problem is the low water quality in the enclosed bay. It is important to maintain good water quality for the fisheries and for mollusk culture. Mussels, for example, are very vulnerable to pollution in the water. The CRM plan addresses the need for sewage treatment so that the city waste will not be dumped in the Bay.
The economy of Brunei is almost totally dependent on oil production. In recent years, the problem of oil pollution has become so magnified so that the CRM plan includes contingencies for any major or minor oil spills along the coast.
Brunei has only 8 commercial fishing trawlers which are closely regulated by the government. A sustainable use fishery plan is being developed which will ensure that over-fishing within Extended Economic Zone of Brunei will be prevented. Monitoring and analysis of god statistics play a major role in this fishery regulation.
3. Indonesia
The CRM Planning for Cilacap, Indonesia includes a large estuaries lagoon, the Segara Anakan, which serves as nursery ground for prawns. This fishery, worth about USD 12 million a year is threatened by fine mesh filters nets in the channels leading out of the lagoon to the offshore areas. The role of the Segara Anakan Lagoon in the offshore shrimp fishery was a major focus of research during the CRM planning for the area. The CRM Planning team wanted slid evidence for the importance of the lagoon as a nursery ground before regulations wee passed to limit the fishing effort in the lagoon. The outcome is a plan to limit the mesh size for some fishing gear.
Fishermen in the Segara Anakan Lagon have been almost totally dependent on catching juvenile shrimp for livelihood. This is indirect conflict with management of the offshore shrimp fishery. The trade off is the development of alternative livelihood for the fishermen. In this case, the most viable livelihood is the cage culture of mangrove crabs, common in the extensive mangrove habitat of the lagoon.
4. Malaysia
The City of Johore, Malaysia dumps all its waste into the Straits of Singapore near a causeway which des not permit any water flow through the Strait. The CRM studies have determined that the causeway should be reconstructed as a bridge so that the natural water movement can be regained and that the city of Johore should treat its waste. Both are very expensive recommendations but will probably be implemented because Singapore and Malaysia are committed to eliminating serious water pollution in their coast.
A major consideration for CRM planning in Malaysia has been the trade-off between maintaining mangrove habitat in its state and the development of aquaculture. In Johere, large areas of mangrove swamps have been converted into shrimp ponds. Now, the Government is looking at the value lost from its mangrove areas and conducting coast-benefit analysis before future decisions are made.
Shipping and industry have become the major actors in the coastal areas of south Malaysia and have created problems of pollution and altered inshore habitats. CRM planning includes land use zones which limit the industrial and port areas to specific sites so that other coastal areas will not be affected. Also, pollution from ships is monitored by the Malaysian Government.
Most of the islands offshore from Malaysia have been designated as marine parks. The CRM planning for Johore includes several marine park areas which have been set mostly for tourism and recreation. Also, Malaysia has few good coral reefs and has decided to maintain all of its reef areas. Unlike the Philippines, coral reefs are not so important in fisheries as for tourism, recreation and research.
5. Singapore
Singapore has developed a CRM plan for its entire coastal water space. One of the main concerns has been the allocation of space for different uses. Thus, a zonation scheme has been devised which designates use zones for major users such as shipping, recreation, research, parks, etc. It is likely that once it is accepted by the Government, it will be implemented.
Coral reefs in Singapore are heavily silted because the country has reclaimed large areas of land from the shallow marine shores. The water quality surrounding the city has suffered and the marine ecosystems have been mostly destroyed. Now as part of CRM planning, some areas being zoned for protection of the natural habitat of coral reefs and few mangroves. The rationale is to maintain the last natural areas in the country and to create recreation and research sites.
Singapore has little fishing industry but is experimenting with cage culture for sea bass, snapper and grouper. The market for these fishes is very good and the technology has been developed to the point where such operations are profitable. CRM planning has allocated space for cage culture and has stipulated water quality standards in these shipping channels.
6. Thailand
Aquaculture ponds in Ban Don Bay in Thailand have also taken their toll of mangrove habitat as more than 60% of the original mangroves have been converted into shrimp ponds. The CRM project highlighted the role of mangrove in the offshore fishery of the bay which is a very rich fishing ground. Now, the Thai Government has totally banned the cutting of mangroves and plans to replant some areas. CRM in Thailand has been concerned with maintaining the environmental quality is coastal areas for tourism. Thailand earns more foreign exchange from tourism than any other industry and much of this is from tourism who visits local sites. CRM planning for tourism considers the impact of boat anchors, the design of beach resorts, the dumping of waste matter from resorts and the management of beaches.
Beach resorts in Phuket Island have been often built on cliffs and caused unnecessary erosion of soil into the marine waters. As a result, the coal reefs of Phuket have been entirely smothered with silt. The CRM plan for Phuket includes a set of guidelines for the development of resorts which will minimize the impact of construction on the marine environment through set-back distance and guideline to prevent water pollution.
It is interesting to note that among the six countries, except for the Philippines, planning was centered in one national agency. In the Philippines site of Lingayen Gulf, the planning was based in NEDA of Region I which took lead in the planning process. This more localized planning involved the regional line agencies and the municipal governments.
Regardless of the ultimate planning strategy, the local, national or both, technical advice for CRM planning is needed. In this regard, it is important that at least one national technical agency plays a major role in the planning for CRM to ensure that all problems are considered and that the most appropriate solutions are included.
Issues, Constraints and their Causes Affecting The Fisheries Sector
Introduction
The Philippines is very dependent on its coastal resources with about 70% of its population residing 50 km. from the coast. The coastal waters of the Philippines are endowed with some of the world’s richest ecosystem such as extensive coral reefs and dense mangrove forests.
Thirty percent of the coral reefs of the world are in Southeast Asia and about 7% in the Philippines. Our coral reef area is estimated to be about 27,000 sq km. Reefs contribute up to 30% of the fish catch in the country and supply of food to many fishes caught outside of reef areas. They protect the shoreline from erosion effected by storm, waves, provided habitat space for fishes caught for the aquarium trade, and contribute to the national coffers in terms of revenues from diving tourism.
On the other, mangroves mainly support through its natural productivity, a food chain leading to many fishery species such as shrimps and some fish. They offer coastal protection through their barrier effect, livelihoods in the from of sustainable wood cutting and collecting of products from plants themselves, and sustenance and income from fish, crustaceans and mollusks dependent on mangrove habitat and nutrients.
The seagrass beds, like the coal reefs and mangrove forests, have been valued for their role as fish nursery areas. They are a source of food nutrients for other coastal ecosystem.
Clearly, the most important marine resource in the country is that of fish.
Unfortunately, these ecosystems which are supportive of fisheries production are being degraded. They are susceptible to both natural and human-induced damage. When these ecosystems are degraded, fisheries production decrease and other benefits enjoyed from these resources cease.
Let us take for example coal reefs. Corals that mostly make up a coal reef require clean, clear water free from pollution and sedimentation. They need a certain level of salinity and can be withstand freshwater inundation, and sunlight to photosynthesize the large quantity of algae in their tissue which is largely responsible for their growth and production in a reef.
Moreover, the coal reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove forests are interconnected and damage to one part affects the other aspects of the system. This interconnected nature stems from the water medium which caries nutrients, larvae, fish and pollutants from one place to another, and compared to other marine systems in the open ocean or to all land based ecosystems except tropical rain forests; mangroves, estuaries, seagrass beds and coal reef ecosystems are the most naturally productive in the world. It is noteworthy that this productivity is free from inputs of people and derived strictly from nature. As an example, a heavily coral reef can produce more than 30 mt of fish per square km per year.
These are fragile systems which are being destroyed at unprecedented rates and are indicators of the condition of fisheries in general. Mangrove forests have declined from about 450,000 ha in 1920 to less than 150,000 ha today. About seventy percent of our coal reefs have been damaged by people’s activities. Proper management of our coastal resources is therefore necessary to ensure continuous functioning of these ecosystems and in turn we continue to benefit from them. However, management is besieged with problems.
RESOUCE MANAGEMENT ISSUE
1.1. Degradation of habitats and environmental in general.
A. Siltation
One cause of habitat degradation is erosion of upland and coastal areas due to illegal logging/cutting of trees, and poor upland agricultural practices. This causes siltation. The amount of silt which washes of deforested areas is tremendous and does irreparable damage to the coastal environment. A coral reef once silted will die from physical smothering and from the lack of light penetration into the water. Eventually, silted reefs will crumble and support very little fish life.
B. Distractive Fishing Methods
Another cause would be the use of destructive fishing methods. A variety of illegal and destructive fishing methods take their toll on the marine environment. The worst offender is blast fishing. It not only destroys the physical structure of the reefs but kills many reefs animals which are not harvested and are necessary for supporting the food chain of fish.
The muro-ami fishing method is notorious for its destructive effect on coral reefs brought about by the use of long scarelines with rocks attached to the bottom. Even though this method is banned, many small scale operations continue to fish all over the southern part of the country which damage many coal reefs annually. A less destructive fishing method is now operating on experimental basis hopefully to replace muro-ami.
The growing trade of aquarium fish in the Philippines has been marred by chronic use of sodium cyanide. The use of poison kills many organisms on the reef, in the vicinity and results in dead corals covered with algae. This is wasteful since the country gained a bad reputation in world trade, and most buyers prefer to buy from other countries. Now, programs are implemented to train fishermen in the use of nets to catch aquarium fish.
C. Physical Damage
Physical damage of the coral reefs is the biggest offender in maintaining their production aside from siltation. Anchors contribute to this damage in heavily populated and fished areas. The collection of coral for any use was banned in 1978 but many still collected for trade. Evan giant clams have been overly-collected and are nearly extinct from most coal reef habitats.
Manta rays are becoming very rare in the country because there is no active protection for these animals. This is true with other large vulnerable species such as whales, sea turtles, and sea cows.
1.2. Overfishing
A. Use of Fine Mesh Nets
A growing problem is the use of fine mesh nets in most net type fishing gear. Many catches of small fish used traditionally for drying are now laced with juvenile fish which never had a chance to reproduce before being caught. Lower production results.
B. Gleaning
People called al edibles during low tide from tide pools and exposed rocks. The impact of this is that many corals are crushed by reef walkers and the shellfish and crustaceans are entirely removed from the reef flat so that little production occurs.
C. Spear-fishing with Scuba
Spear-fishing with scuba is not permitted in the Philippines but continue in many areas. The problem with this method is that it depletes certain species from the reef. It is also not consistent with marine tourism where people like to see and take photos.
1.3. Competition and Conflicts in Resource Use and Allocation of Space.
A. Mangrove Forests vs. Aquaculture Ponds.
Many mangrove forests have been converted to shrimp and/or fishponds because of the promise of high rates of return from aquaculture. The question is whether the aquaculture is really more productive than the natural habitat for fisheries and other uses?
B. Good Water Quality vs Waste Disposal
Marine areas are used as waste dumping sites. Waste disposal from urban and from town centers is causing increased levels of pollution in many marine areas. Aside from being unsightly and unhealthy, marine life is negatively affected and sometimes killed or made toxic.
SOCIOECONOMIC AND CULTURAL ISSUES
The underlying causes of the issues affecting marine resource management in the country are often considered to be social, economic and cultural in nature.
There is widespread poverty in many coastal areas.
Overpopulation is now clearly evident in the fisheries sector. The Philippines has one of the highest population growth rates of any country in the world. It could become the single most serious problem facing the country today because of the implications for the limited natural resources base.
The tragedy of overuse is occurring in many areas where the resource abundance and space is limited. The implications are that returns to each fisherman for increasing effort are declining.
LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES
The laws and the institutional arrangements for implementation of management need to be improved. Some laws are not appropriate and often roles of particular agencies in the government are not clear.
CONCLUSION
The fisheries sector is besieged with these general problems in coastal resources management. Therefore, the Department of Agriculture with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank, is implementing the Fisheries Sector Program to address these major concerns.
CRM problems affecting the country as a whole have been presented. In an effort to plan solutions for these problems and their causes, it is appropriate to determine the problems and their causes specific to the management sites.
Coverage of the Course
COVERAGE
The Program is developing and implementing coastal resources management plans for 12 priority bays of which the first three are in the initial pilot sites:
1. Calauag Bay Quezon Province
2. Caigaa Bay Leyte
3. Panguil Bay Misamiz Occidental, Lanao del Norte, and Zamboanga del Sur
4. Manila Bay Bataan, Bulacan, Cavite, and Pampanga
5. Tayabas Quezon Province
6. Ragay Gulf Quezon and Camarines Sur
7. San Miguel Bay Camaines Norte and Sur
8. Sosogon Bay Sorsogon
9. agonoy Gulf Camarines Sur, Albay nad Catanduanes
10. San Pedro Bay Samar and Leyte
11. Omoc Bay Leyte
12. Sogod Bay Southern Leyte
The 12 priority bays have been selected based on the following criteria:
(i) Resource regeneration requirements
(ii) Environment Degradation Problems
(iii) Poverty Level of Fishing Communities
(iv) Initiative and Self-Regulation by Municipal Governments and Local Fishermen
For aquaculture, implementation is being done in the six priority regions, which have been selected, based on the extent of aquaculture development.
Region I Ilocos
Region III Cental Luzon
Region IV Southern Tagalog
Region IV Bicol
Region VI Western Visayas
Region IX Western Mindanao
Achieving Program Goal
The goals of the program are being met through improving the administration and management of marine resources by fishery agencies, more effective coordination of research activities and proper enforcement of existing laws. Decreasing fishing effort in heavily exploited areas and rehabilitating the coastal environment will be necessary while establishing alternate livelihood activities for fishermen.
The general term of field management is to involve the coastal communities in the decision-making and implementation process. Regulatory functions are encouraged at the municipal level to complement participation lie with the communities, municipal governments, Department of Agriculture and Department of Environment and Natural Resources regional offices and non-government agencies working in the areas.