Impact on the Sardine Industries: Closed Fishing Season Policy, Zamboanga Peninsula, The Philippines
Since the Philippines is archipelagic with a lot of major fishing grounds of which many are considered ecologically threatened, a closed fishing season is invariably an expected recourse. The Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior and Local Government enforced a three-month fishing ban in 2011-2014 in Zamboanga Peninsula, intended to conserve the sardine species and sustain the operations of its industries. Since a closed fishing season entails not only benefits but also costs, its expiration in 2014 raised calls to empirically validate its outcome.
Premised on the meagre information on the impact of closed fishing season and fishing regulations in the country—this study assesses the effects of the Closed Fishing Season Policy on the sardine fishing and processing sectors by looking into the variation in sardine catch, sardine production and level of employment. Utilising a survey research design, the article contends that the fishing regulation had a favourable impact on the sardine industries; the commercial and municipal fishers grew their sardine catch, and the canning and bottling processors benefited from increasing production and rising number of workers. Sardine catch and production are expected to surpass the previous peaks in volume in the coming years, and the number of workers exceeded the previous highest level prior to the enactment of the closed fishing season. The findings debunk the zero-sum expectations and offer a promising prospect for justifying the continuation of the fishing regulation, the institutionalisation of the Policy, and its adoption in other parts of the country.
[ACN] A.C. Nielsen (2015). The Philippine Sardines Industry.
Arendse, C., Governder, A. and G. Branch (2007). Environmental impact of fishing: Are closed fishing seasons an effective means of increasing reproductive output? Fisheries Research, 85(1-2): 93-100.
Attrill, M.J., Austen, M.C., Cousens, S.L., Gall, S.C., Hattam, C., Mangi, S., Rees, A., Rees, S., Rodwell, L.D., Sheehan, E.V. and T.F. Stevens (2012). Lyme Bay – A case study: Measuring recovery of benthic species; assessing potential“spillover” effects and socio-economic changes, three
years after the closure. Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Plymouth University, Plymouth, UK.
[BAS] Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (2014). Country statistics Philippines.
Béné, C. and A.E. Neiland (2006). From participation to governance: A critical review of the concepts of governance, co-management and participation, and their implementation in small scale inland fisheries in developing countries. World Fish Center, Penang, Malaysia and CGIAR, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
[BFAR] Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (1989). Fisheries administrative order no. 167 series of 1989.
[BFAR] Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (2011a). Joint Department of Agriculture-Department of the Interior and Local Government (DA-DILG) administrative order no. 1 series of 2011.
[BFAR] Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (2011b). Report on the scientific review of studies on sardines.
[BFAR] Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (2014). Administrative order circular no. 255 Series of 2014.
Brillo, B.B., Elazegui, D., Cervantes, C. and A. Rola (2016). Assessing the Formulation and Implementation of the Closed Fishing Season Policy for Sardines in Zamboanga Peninsula, Philippines (in press).
Campos, M.A., Pantoja, B.R., Manalili M.N. and M.R. Bravo (2003). Economic evaluation of fishery policies in Lamon bay, Quezon, Philippines. SEAMEO- SEARCA, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines.
Chimba, N. and G. Musuka (2014). Impact of closed fishing season on the livelihood of fishers: A case of stratum I of Kafue fishery. International Journal of Life Sciences Research, 2(1): 49-62.
Cohen, P., Cinner, J. and S. Foale (2013). Fishing dynamics associated with periodically-harvested marine closures. Global Environmental Change, 23(6): 1702-1713.
[DOLE] Department of Labor and Employment (Region 9)(2015). Data on number of cannery workers in Zamboanga City.
[DTI] Department of Trade and Industry (Region 9) (2013). Sardines industry in Zamboanga Peninsula.
[DTI] Department of Trade and Industry (Region 9) (2014). Report on sardines industry in Zamboanga City.
Evans, L., Cherett, N. and D. Pemsl (2011). Assessing the impact of fisheries co-management interventions in developing countries: A meta-analysis. Journal of Environmental Management, 92(8): 1938-1949.
Failler, P. and H. Pan (2007). Global value, full value and societal costs: Capturing the true cost of destroying marine ecosystems. Special Issue of Social Science Information,46(1): 109-134.
[FAO] Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (1997). FAO technical guidelines for responsible fisheries no. 4: Fisheries Management.
Google Maps (2016). Philippines. Retrieved from https:// www.google.com.ph/maps
Hargraves, K. (2011). Why do we have closed seasons? Retrieved http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/28_3055.htm.
Mardle, S., Pascoe, S. and I. Herrero (2004). Management Objective Importance in Fisheries: An Evaluation Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Environmental Management, 33(1): 1-11.
[PSA] Philippine Statistics Authority (2015). Fisheries volume of production by subsector, by region and by province.
Republic Act 8550 (1998). The Philippine Fisheries Code.
Sadovy, Y., Colin, P. and M. Domeier (2005). Monitoring and managing spawning aggregations: Methods and challenge. SPC Live Reef Fish Information Bulletin, 14: 25-29.
Sanchirico, J. (2000). Marine protected areas as fishery policy: A discussion of potential costs and benefits. Resources for the Future Discussion Paper 00–23, Washington D.C.
[SOPHIL] Southern Philippines Association of Deep Sea Fishing (2015). List of SOPHIL member companies and corresponding number of vessels.
Survey (2015). Industry survey conducted in the canning processors, bottling processors and commercial fishing companies in Zamboanga Peninsula.
Valerio, R. (2015). Sardines: The state of the industry. A presentation material during the 1st Sardine Congress, Zamboanga City.