Fisheries Management for Zamboanga del Norte: A Pragmatic Approach By Edmundo Enderez Aug 21, 2012

This fisheries technical paper is intended to give the general picture of the marine fisheries of Zamboanga del Norte and the significance of the municipal water of Katipunan in the overall efforts to pragmatically manage the fisheries resources of the adjacent municipal water of Dipolog City and the rest of the province. Source of fish catch data is the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS). 1. Volume of Catch -- Graph below shows that the total marine fish catch of Zamboanga del Norte had reached its peak in 1990 and then significantly declined to its lowest level in 1998-1999 .Then from 2000 to 2005 it had slightly increased but on an erratic trend, afterwards it had again significantly declined to its lowest in 2009. And between 2009 and 2011, it showed an increase and decrease pattern. Given an increasing population of the fisherfolk amidst decreasing volume of fish catch, anyone can rightly guess that the fishing communities would like suffer much from poverty than ever before.

2. Value of catch -- Based on the Graph below, the value of fish catch showed a 2 percent annual increase between 2002 and 2011, but the inflation rate then fluctuated at an average of 5 percent. Hence for full-time fishers, their economic life is really miserable.

3. Population poverty incidence Particular for Katipunan, it has poverty incidence between 51-60 percent is slightly lower than the provincial record at 61.6 percent, based on the National Statistical

Coordination Board) as presented below.

3.

Determining the Status of the Fishery by different methods

a. The first method of determining the status of the fishery or fishing ground is through the pattern of annual catch. Since available data from BAS are at the province level, there is a need to conduct catch data gathering at the barangay and/or municipal level. A decreasing trend in annual catch could be an indication of overfishing. But since, the total catch consists of different species of fish, it is necessary to determine what particular species of fish are overfished and still high-yielding. Segregating the catch data by species would show the following: 1) Graph below shows that during the period 2002-2011, the catch of tamban (tuloy) and tunsoy (mangsi) are on generally increasing trend but these have generally leveled off between 20052011; while the catch of galunggong and alumahan are . Both tamban (tuloy) and tunsoy (mangsi) are still on the increasing trend, while galunggong and alumahan are on the decreasing trend.

2) Graph below shows the quarterly catch of tamban. The 1st and 2nd quarter municipal and commercial tamban catch in 2012 are higher than those in 2011 which could indicate that the sardine

fishing ban during the period Dec 1 to March 1 2012 was effective. However, the 1st quarter catch of commercial tamban catch is lower than that of 2010 and the 2nd quarter of the municipal tamban catch is lower than that of 2008. But to determine if the fishing ban is really effective, the annual catches in all 4 quarters have to compared.

3) Graph below shows the catch of different species as follows: alimasag, talakitok, borador (flying fish), saramulyete (goatfish), hasa-hasa, sapsap, pusit and bisugo which are all decreasing between the period 2002-2011.

4) Graph below shows the pattern of catch of tuna species. It is only the skipjack tuna or gulyasan which has an increasing pattern of catch while those of yellowfin, tulingan and eastern little tuna are decreasing.

b. The second method of determining the status of the fishery or fishing ground is the catch per unit of effort or CPUE approach. It says that when the annual CPUE (total catch or by specie) in a particular fishing ground is decreasing, then it could mean the fishing ground is particular specie of fish is overfished already. There are references that can serve as basis in conducting the CPUE approach. c. The third method is the application of the length-frequency analysis. Through computer programming, monthly fish length data are processed to come up with technical parameters such as, among others, rate of exploitation (fishing mortality divided by total mortality) and relative size (average size at capture divided by length at infinity) which is based on the explanation of D. Pauly. d. The 4th method is by application of the Fish Ruler approach as being promoted by BFAR and other research institutions. This approach says that no fishing should be done on a particular specie of fish when majority of the catch are immature or only the mature size should be caught. The length at first maturity of any specie of fish is available at Fish Base website and BFAR and other research institutions have data on this matter but only on certain species of fish. 4. Climate Change-related effect on fish productivity and catch levels

a. The declining or increasing marine fish catch of Zamboanga del Norte as shown below is not only affected by overfishing and fish habitat degradation (which lowers fish carrying capacity of the sea). The change in climate from El Nino to La Nina and vice-versa affects natural fish productivity of the sea. In theory, phytoplankton abundance which is caused by the availability of sunlight and nutrients increases the small pelagic fish productivity and therefore increased catch could be expected. In the Graph, the years when El Nino and La Nina occurred are plotted; its shows that peak years of fish catch occurred during period of strong El Nino (1987-1988); the lean years of fish catch or decline in catch occurred during the period of La Nina (1998-1999; 2006; 2009 (partial); 2011 to 1st half of 2012). b. The occurrence of El Nino and upwelling areas in the coastal waters of Zamboanga del Norte make its municipal waters highly productive in small pelagic fish, notably tamban, tunsoy and galunggong, among others. Based on studies, the abundance of said small pelagic fish results to abundance in population of tuna fish. Hence, it is expected that certain species of tuna could be caught in abundance in the deepsea portion of the municipal waters.

5. Fisheries Management -- Based on the status of the major species of fish, fisheries management measures should be formulated in accordance with RA 8550. The fisheries management measures can be any or combination of the following: a. b. c. d. e. e. f. g. h. i. fish sanctuary (or marine protected area MPA) fishery reserve (refuge) fishery management area demarcated area demarcated fishery management area (combination of fishery management / demarcated areas) closed season catch quota or catch ceiling mesh size limitation registration of municipal fisherfolk and banca registration of commercial/semi-commercial fishing boats and licensing

6. Appropriate fisheries management measure This is based on the species, biophysical features of the area and trade-off with the affected fishing communities. a. It is assumed that status of the provincial fisheries as presented above is reflective of the situation in the municipality of Katipunan. b. However, there is a need to confirm if the species of fish which show a pattern of declining catch or even those with increasing catch are overfish or not based on several methods as presented above. The Fish Ruler method may be adopted immediately. What needs to be done is determine the length at first maturity of the abovementioned species of fish and other species, if needed, and compare them with the actual average size of the actual catch of said species of fish. c. Having known what species to be regulated or banned relative to fishing, then determine what particular area of the sea or fishing grounds where these species of fish are caught or usually/normally found. In the case of Katipunan municipal water, it has a seabed that is unique in topography as shown in the Map below. There is long channel emanating from a point more than 5 kilometers away from the shoreline of Barangay San Antonio (Laoy) which is getting narrower as it approaches the shoreline

wherein the mouths of the big and long rivers of Dicayo and Punta are located. Based on certain literature, sea channels with and without abutting big rivers are endowed with high fisheries productivity. Relative thereto, there is really a need to conduct fish stock assessment in the municipal water of Katipunan as well as that of the adjacent Dipolog City since the ecosystem of both municipal waters are interrelated.

d. Based on the Map above, southern end of the channel is abutting the shores of Barangay San Antonio (Laoy). The end of the channel which is more or less 1 kilometer away from the shoreline is actually being frequented by municipal fishers to catch different fish from plankton feeding specie like tamban (tuloy) to highly carnivorous species like hairtail (espada or diwit-diwit). Next step is to make consultation with the fishing community of San Antonio which heavily rely on said water area for fishing as main source income. The google satellite map below shows the density of houses and fishing bancas.

e. But in the case of Dipolog City whose municipal water is adjacent to Katipunan, it has a very wide sea bed much shallower than that of Katipunan. There is no distinct area that can serve as natural sanctuary or fish habitat just like coral reef or seagrass bed which are highly productive ecosystems other than the so-called sea channels. It could be the whole municipal water of Dipolog that should be subjected to fisheries management by way of regulating the catch of the species of fish that are determined to be overfished based on the studies conducted by the Dipolog School of Fisheries or the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) or other research institutions. f. Validate with the fishing communities or those fishers who frequently do fishing activities therein the fisheries data and information. If fisheries management measures will be undertaken like for example the establishment of demarcated fishery management area or marine protected area at the southern end of the Katipunan sea channel, determine who will be affected and up to what extent is the effect on income. Trade-off in the form of alternative or diversified livelihood projects or any other arrangement that is doable should be defined to take good care of those who will be affected in the longterm or short-term should fisheries management will be undertaken. g. Formulate fisheries ordinance relative to the matter. The normal process in making an ordinance until its approval should be followed. There corresponding budget for the implementation of the ordinance should be included in the Katipunan or Dipolog City annual budget. h. Formation and capacity development of the Management unit that will handle the fisheries ordinance implementation. The unit will include major stakeholders such as the office of the Mayor, M/CFARMC, Barangay Council, bantay dagat, PNP-maritime, SB on Fisheries, MAO, MPDO, representatives from NGOs and POs, among others. i. Capacity development involves understanding fisheries management framework from the vision, mission and goals of the management unit; management functions; components of fisheries ordinance/program and the expected Sustainable Development Effects and Impact given the timeframe.