In recent decades, participatory projects in coastal resources and fisheries management in the Philippines have increased in number.” The legal framework for coastal resources and fisheries management in the Philippines consists of several laws. Municipalities thus have “the exclusive authority to grant fishing privileges in municipal waters…” (sec.
The political will on both the FARMC/
Assuming the political will is there, financial
Often, coastal municipalities do not
Excessive fishing capacity in global fisheries is an increasing problem as it contributes significantly to overfishing and the decline of marine fish stocks and habitats, and can be considered a significant economic abuse. Similarly, fishing capacity is a burning issue within the World Trade Organization (WTO), where subsidies that encourage over-capitalization are increasingly seen as unacceptable. The FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) specifies that states must take measures to prevent or eliminate excess fishing capacity and ensure that the level of fishing effort is proportionate to the sustainable use of fisheries resources.
Regulating Access to Fisheries Freezing the Fishing Fleets
Historically, fisheries managers have attempted to control fishing capacity by regulating inputs (such as the number of vessels, time spent fishing, or gear limits) or outputs (total allowable catch, possibly divided into individual quotas). As noted above, the decline in fishing capacity in the region has significant socio-economic consequences for some of the poorest segments of the population. With this in mind, the meeting also issued initial guidelines for the management of fishing facilities in the region.
HRD for Fisheries Management
The meeting further emphasized the need to address social, legal and environmental aspects within the HRD programme. One important issue is to prevent the polarization of fisheries management and habitat management; instead, joint programs should be designed for the benefit of all people living in coastal areas. All three groups identified several issues such as the need to manage and reduce fishing capacity, the need to develop alternative or additional income opportunities, and the need to address legal and institutional issues.
Several problems were identified (..), such as the need to manage and reduce fishing capacity, the need to develop alternative or. Household structures need to be reviewed along with the relative dependence on fishing, boat and gear ownership, land tenure and access rights in relation to existing legal provisions. In this context, the institutional and legal implications of various activities need to be clarified along with the development of an understanding of the institutional structures necessary to support shared governance.
In national planning for sustainable fisheries at the central level, the development perspectives of small-scale and large-scale fisheries must be balanced against the benefits to the country as a whole as well as to individuals involved in fishing. In a country like Cambodia, there are specific sub-decrees for community fisheries and community forestry that need to be addressed in any HRM program on co-management or locally-based management. Land tenure and access rights in relation to existing legal provisions should be assessed for their relevance to the development of rights-based fisheries system.
Also in this context, land tenure and access rights need to be monitored in relation to existing legal provisions, particularly in relation to small-scale coastal and inland fishing.
SEAFDEC participates
To promote regional approaches and views of aquatic species management and to add a fisheries atmosphere to the exhibition, SEAFDEC operated a stand at the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species wildlife species and flora (CITES). Special attention was paid to the management and conservation of shark and sea turtle species in Southeast Asia.
CoP13’s
This has already been discussed in articles in two previous issues of Fish for the People. The state of fisheries resources in the ASEAN region is now forcing member states to seek immediate options to better manage their resources. Alternative methodologies for assessing these resources are required that should not only depend on the use of expensive time-consuming scientific biological assessment models.
Fisheries assessment methodologies that are valid and acceptable to stakeholders, and that are cost-effective and feasible, need to be developed to produce knowledge to support management on a sustainable basis. However, in developing countries, there is still a need to identify appropriate and relevant indicators to meet the requirements of national fisheries policies, given the complexity of the resource base and the limitations of the institutions responsible for fisheries management. A mechanism should be created to introduce the use of sustainability indicators in fisheries development and management.
The state of fisheries resources in the ASEAN region forces member states to search. The use of sustainability indicators is a tool to monitor and control the development of fisheries in ASEAN. The effective use of indicators in alternative management regimes such as rights-based fisheries requires the active participation of stakeholders.
Selection of indicators should be based on available data and information, and indicators should be kept practical.
Using Indicators for the Sustainable
A profiling workshop involving fisheries stakeholders selected for the pilot study should be organised. The final draft of the plan must then be accepted for implementation in the pilot study. Both the draft management plan and the development of the plan formulation process should be part of the final output of this pilot study, as emphasized by FAO.
After more than a year of pilot project implementation, a second regional technical consultation was held in March 2004 on the use of indicators, as presented in the last issue of Fish for the People, where the progress of project implementation and preliminary results were discussed. These activities included preparation of the project proposal, assessment of the status of fishery resources in the study area and preparation for paper presentation to the stakeholders. The two major achievements so far are the National Conference on Coastal Fisheries Management in Malaysia and the formation of the National Steering Committee for Coastal Fisheries Management in the country.
The main objective of the pilot project was to improve the condition of the stock in this area. The committee comprises representatives of the Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (FDAM), the Malaysian Institute of Marine Affairs (MIMA), the World Fish Center (WFC) and the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and is chaired by the Deputy Director General of the Department of Fisheries (DOF) Malaysia. The result from the National Meeting of Experts was presented to the interested parties. The workshop finalized the selection of potential indicators and agreed to update information on all selected potential indicators, to be presented during the second stakeholder consultative workshop.
Proceedings of the Regional Technical Consultation on the Use of Indicators for Sustainable Development and Management of Capture Fisheries in the ASEAN Region organized by the Department of Marine Fisheries Development and Management (MFRDMD) of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC), 16-18 September 2002, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia.
Learning about Our Fishing Gear and Fish Resources
Existing information and data for the sustainable development and management of inland fisheries in the ASEAN region are widely recognized as inadequate. It has been proposed that activities to collect fishing gear and methods for inland fishing in Southeast Asia be carried out in Lao PDR and Myanmar. In addition, a study on the taxonomy of inland fishes was also discussed to help better understand the existence and distribution of fish species in inland water bodies.
The study will provide a basis for future planning and management of the inland fisheries sector. The current lack of statistical data and information for the management of inland fisheries, especially data on available fishing gear and practices, is one of the major causes for the current underestimation of total production. This will include explanation on the relationship between collected data and management of inland capture fisheries, as well as on overcoming obstacles faced during their surveys.
The result of the activity will be presented in the form of a 'Handbook of Inland Fishes in Myanmar' for further use as a basis for planning and management of inland water areas. She has been involved in the coordination and implementation of the activities under the project 'Information Gathering for Capture Inland Fisheries in ASEAN Countries'. The studies were carried out in the three most important areas of the inland fish habitats in the country.
This study will provide local policy makers and managers in Lao PDR and Myanmar with an overview of the status and trends of inland fisheries.
Locally-based Coastal Resources
In the 1990s, in response to the global call for the protection, conservation and sustainable management of coastal resources, the provincial government of Aklan initiated efforts for coastal resource management programs along its 155 km long coastline. Already in 1997, the Provincial Government of Aklan established an advisory body on coastal resource management (CRM), known as the Provincial Technical Working Group (PTWG), which was composed of representatives of fishing communities, municipal governments, local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), fisheries and forestry line agencies, the national police and academics in the province. These players are involved in the rational and sustainable use of coastal resources by raising environmental awareness and enforcing laws and policies related to resource protection.
Support for local management, fine-tuned to local cultural environments and communication in the local dialect will also contribute significantly to stakeholders. He has seven years of experience in aquaculture research and development work in the Philippines, and completed his Ph.D. Third Technical Consultation Meeting on Information Collection for Sustainable Pelagic Fisheries in the South China Sea.
Preparatory Expert Meeting on Fisheries Capacity and Related Human Resource Development Needs in the ASEAN Region. Technical Working Group Meeting on the Indicators for Sustainable Development and Management of Capture Fisheries in the ASEAN Region. To carry out research and development in fishing gear technology, fishing ground surveys, post-harvest technology and aquaculture, to investigate problems relating to fish handling at sea and quality control and to conduct surveys of the fishery resources of the region; and.
To arrange for the transfer of technology to the countries in the region and to make available the print and non-print media, including the publication of statistical bulletins for exchange and dissemination relating to fisheries and aquaculture development.
