aquafar m n e w s • LG U s and aq u acu ltu re
T a p a z: liv e lih o o d for fo r m e r in s u r g e n ts
B y E T A l d o n
T he ab sence of seaw ater and large w ater bodies in central P anay is n o t a letd ow n for M a y o r R o m u a ld o E x m u n d o o f T apaz, C a p iz . M a y o r E x m u n d o in itia te d th e S E A F D E C /A Q D -C P E U -B F A R p ro je c t w here A Q D prov id es technical assistance in the culture o f tilapia in netcages in San Ju lian dam . C PE U is C entral P anay E c o nom ic U nion, Inc., a consortium of tow n m ayors.
C entral Panay h ad been very m uch isolated fo r la c k o f g o o d r o a d s , and the insur
g e n c y in th e '80s has found a f e r tile g r o u n d b e cause o f p o v e r ty in th e a re a . T h e p ositiv e outloo k o f the p resent p rogressive m ayor, how ever, h as encouraged the rebels to c o m e d o w n fro m th e h ills . M a y o r E x m u n d o fa c ilita te d th e a llo tm e n t of a p ortio n o f San Ju lian dam for the ex-rebels to p u t up their ow n tila p ia cages. Tapaz, after 8 m o nths, is now enjoying bountiful h arvests o f tilapia. A t the sam e tim e, the L G U is m aintaining tilapia breeders to sup
p ly th e ir fry re q u ire m e n t. T h e m a y o r stressed that the project h as b rou ght social and econo m ic benefits to Tapaz. A Q D did n o t only open av en u es for econom ic d e
velopm ent, the M ay o r said, but h ad taught them enviro nm ental protection and conser
vation.
H e exhorts his constitu ents to protect the riv er b ank s b y protecting the trees that grow alo n g it. "I w ill m ake San Ju lian dam our b e st bet for the n atio nal governm ent's 'C lean a n d green' aw ard nex t year. We only got 3rd in the regio n al lev el this year." ###
M ayor R om ualdo Exm undo of Tapaz has found a liv elih o o d f o r
rebel return ees
W H A T ' S I N -
th e island of b o h o l
B ohol b elo n g s to R egion 7, and has 47 tow ns including 29 coastal m unici
palities. T h e island h as ro llin g and h illy terrain, an d ab o ut 161 km o f coastline characterized by w oodlands, grass and areas o f dense sw am plands.
It has 3,407 h a o f fishponds.
In term s o f lo c a l g o v e rn m e n t an d c o m m u n ity in v o lv e m e n t in C R M , som e rehabilitation efforts for m an
groves have been initiated as early as 1964. A nother reforestation project by students and officials in C alape in 1968 p lanted a 20 m band along 4.8 km o f c o a st for p ro te c tio n a g a in st w ind and storm s.
F rom 1984 to 1992, B an aco n Isla n d (still w ithin B o h o l’s jurisdiction) w as m ade a m odel for the com m unity-based m angrove reforestation com ponent of a W orld B ank project. Today, it h as 400 h a of bakauan bata o r spider m angrove (R h izop h o ra sty lo za) plantation, half of w hich w as planted by the com m unity.
E a s t o f B a n a c o n is a n o th e r isla n d , C alituban, w ith 300 h a o f young m an gro ves. To the w e st are the isle ts o f Ju g u liao and N asin gin w hich are also surrounded w ith m angroves.
O ne of B o h o l’s m unicipalities, Pitogo (a lso k n o w n as P re sid e n t C a rlo s P.
G arcia), h as been cited as the best in coastal m anagem ent b y the L eagu e of M unicipalities of the P hilipp ines and D E N R ’s C o a sta l R e so u rc e M a n a g e m ent Project. F rom th e P h ilip p in e R egio n a l Profiles
Tubigon: C R M in p rogress
B y N J D a g o o n
M ayor P aulo L asco of T ubigon, B oh ol re
cently collaborated w ith SEA FD EC/A Q D , B FA R and four other non-go vernm ent or
gan izatio n s on a training course on m a
rine cage farm ing. T he course w as spon
sored by L andB ank.
M a y o r L a sc o c o n sid e rs h im s e lf a
"new " m ayor, h avin g been elected only last year. B elow he sh ares h is view s on L G U s, c o a s ta l re so u rc e s m a n a g e m e n t (C RM ) and aquaculture.
D o e s Tubigon have an e x istin g C R M p o lic y ?
W e are follow ing the p revious ad m inistra
tio n ’ s policy w hich is open fishing. A ny
one can fish in our w aters, ju st as long as he abides by our law s and ordinances. If
one trespasses, h e ’ ll be d oing a lo t of e x plaining in our court.
O ur fishing areas are zoned. F or in stance, tw o island b aran gays, M akabong a n d B a g o n g B a n w a , are d e sig n a te d as p a y a o zones. A ll the fishers in these island villag es u se o n ly p a y a o , and o n ly fish that go near the p a y a o can be harvested.
The area in B atasan h a s been declared a sanctuary. T his consists of an 80 h a m an
g r o v e p la n t a t io n , a n d is p a r t o f the H a rib o n — D E N R — F e e d th e C h ild re n project. Three other islets have been de
clared as part o f NIPAS, the N ational Inte
grated Protected A rea System s. We help the D E N R p ro te c t the are a . B u t sin c e th e T ubigon fishing gro und is not very wide, resident fishers o f 12 coastal b arangays are
22 SEAFDEC Asian Aquaculture VoI. XXI No. 6 December 1999
aq u afarm n e w s • LG U s and aq u acu ltu re
allo w ed to fish n ear these islets to avoid conflict.
W e are still in the "initial"
stage o f m arine sanctuaries. We do h ave a fish sanctuary but not in the strictest sense o f the w ord.
T he fish sanctuary I m ean is arti
ficial reefs w h ic h are c em en t- casted, and then dropped to the sea floor. It’s a fish sanctuary in the se n se th at it is a p ro te c te d zone.
W hat are o th e r C R M p o lic y m ea su res do yo u h a v e?
A nother kind o f h elp w e extend is the reg u latio n o f com m ercial fishing. D uring nig h ts an d under the cover of darkness, big c o m m ercial fishing vessels som etim es trespass on our territorial jurisdic
tion. O u r d e p u ty w a rd e n s, fish w ard en s and th e B a n ta y D a g a t patrol are posted to catch these of
fenders.
We have a program that gives
non-cash assista n ce to sm all-scale fishers.
W e g iv e e q u ip m e n t, lik e a B r ig g s &
Stratton 5-10 hp engine an d fishing m ate
rials for g ill net o r pam u fishing. Ju st the other w eek w e gave around P 46,000 worth o f fishing p araphernalia.
H ow m any f ish e rs o r v illa g e rs have a v a iled o f th e se gifts?
Since I arrived Ju ly o f la st year, there h ave been five b ara n g ay s extended assistance.
H ow do you d eterm in e th e d eserv in g o n es of a id ?
W ell, w e first screen them by conducting a b ack ground investigation. W e determ ine w h o those m a rg in a lize d fishers are, the poorest am ong the poor, w ith the help of the b aran gay officials an d N G O s.
H ow d o e s th e lo c a l g o v e rn m e n t h elp in C R M a n d a qua cu ltu re, w ith rega rd s to te c h n ic a l a c c e ss?
T h e sam e w ay as w h at w e ’ re d oing now.
W e invite A Q D and c ollab o rate w ith som e of the other ag encies concerned, like for
instance, L and B ank, the L O G O D E F (the L ocal G overnm ent D evelop m ent F ou n d a
tion) and n o n-go vernm ent organizatio ns lik e H arib o n F o u n d a tio n a n d F ee d the C hildren. We collaborate w ith them w ith respect to providing technical and trans
m itting technical know -how or expertise to aquaculture grow ers.
D o you have a su p p o rt stru c tu re f o r m a rk etin g ? a c c e ss to so u rc e s o f fry?
N one as of now , because w e have n o t c o n ducted any m arketing studies. F or fry, w e are n o w studying the sources. T h at’ s w hy w e called on A Q D to share ideas on how to go about this. R ight now, the fry w e use com e from the w ild and are bought from the tow n's fry gatherers. H opefully, the transfer of expertise from AQ D w ill e n able us to propagate our ow n fry.
H ave you v isite d o u r h a tch ery f a c ilitie s a t A Q D ? H ow d id you fin d th em ? D o you p la n to g e t fry from A Q D a nd tra n sp o rt
th em to B o h o l?
Yes, I have, b u t I d o n ’ t know h ow w e can
r e p lic a te th em w ith the h u g e am o u n t in v o lv ed in th e ir c o n stru c tio n . I h o p e th at w ith th e h e lp o f o u r funding sou rces— the E u ro p e a n U n io n a n d th e L O G O D E F - - w e c a n b u ild ou r o w n h atchery in stages.
In the m eantim e, w e can m a k e a r r a n g e m e n ts w ith A Q D ab o ut g etting fry. Mr.
R enato A g b ay an i (H ead of A Q D 's T raining and Infor
m ation D iv isio n ) h as already signified his intention to su p port us in this aspect.
W hat s u p p o r t d o e s th e L G U g iv e in te rm s o f f e e d ? G rouper culture in o u r c o m m unity d epends on trash fish.
R ight now, they buy this f rom n e ig h b o rin g to w n s an d the m u n ic ip a lity itself. S h o u ld the in d u stry expand further, th e trashfish supp ly co u ld be depleted. In that event, our lo cal buyers w ill h ave to go to C ebu to buy trash fish.
In w hat way then w ill th e L G U h elp the g ro w ers have a c c e s s to th e se so u r c e s?
We w ill contact supp liers and w e w ill p ro vide inform ation an d technical assistance.
We w ill tap exp ertise and k n o w led g e from A Q D and transm it them to the gro w ers.
D o yo u have lo n g -term p ro g ra m s to en su re th a t the to w n 's c o a sta l re so u rc es are su sta in a b ly d e v e lo p e d ?
We h ave a strong law enforcem ent ca m paign. We w ill ex p and ou r B a n ta y D a g a t or seab o ard p atro l team s. A s o f now , w e h ave tw o team s an d a n o th e r th ree su p ported by an N G O .
We are very ded icated and sincere in this aspect because no m atter h ow goo d our program s w ill be, w e w ill a lw a y s fail if law enforcem ent is poor. So in line w ith our support for or com m itm ent to C R M ’ s success— w e m ust also strictly enforce and uphold the m unicip al ordinances and law s.
n e xt page Tubigon M ayor P aulo Lasco
M em bers of various fish ers' cooperative co n stru ct a netcage in M aberes, Tubigon.
In the background is one of the three NIPAS site s where m ariculture p ro jects (including gro u p er culture) are to be p u rsu ed
SEAFDEC Asian Aquaculture VoI. XXI No. 6 December 1999 23
a q u a fa rm n e w s • LG U s and aqu aculture
T ubigon ... from p rev io u s p age
W hat o th e r n o n -g o v ern m en t o rg a n iza tio n s are yo u in v o lv ed w ith ?
B esid es F eed the C hildren, H aribon and LO G O D EF, G reenpeace is n o w associated w ith us. T he L O G O D E F m ain ly funds our C R M and m ariculture project. It is based in M an ila and is the front org an izatio n in the P hilip pines for the C onrad A denauer S tif tu n g K a s in G e r m a n y . C o n r a d A d enauer w as the first p rim e m inister of the W est G erm an R epublic. To perpetuate his m em ory, the G erm ans established in his h onor the found ation w h o se purpo se is to build up strong dem ocracies in Third W orld countries.
W hat is y o u r re la tio n sh ip w ith N G O s, fish erfo lk a sso c ia tio n s, g o v e rn m e n t a n d p r iv a te a g e n c ie s ? H ow d o yo u rela te to
th e m ?
I w o u ld say w e h av e an ex cellen t, cordial relatio n sh ip w ith the N G O s and the p ri
va te sector. W e h a v e alread y established rapport. H opefully, w e can su stain this in the future.
W hat a re so m e o f y o u r lo n g -ra n g e p la n s?
We p lan to rev ise our zo n ification schem e.
W e need to u pd ate b ecau se claim ants have in c re a se d in num ber. T h ere are v ario u s claim ants of o u r fishing grounds. T his has created co nflict am o n g them an d the only w ay to re so lv e th is conflict is to zonify anew the fish in g g ro u n d
P le a se en u m e ra te th e f a c to r s th a t en sure s u c c e s s o f th e C R M p ro g ra m in yo u r m u n icip a lity.
F irst is stron g rela tio n sh ip /co lla b o ratio n b etw een the LG U and the N G O s. We can’ t en su re the su c c e ss o f C R M w ith o u t the h elp o f n o n -g o v ern m en t org anizatio ns.
T h e seco n d factor is h o n est-to -g o o d n e ss an d d edicated la w enforcem ent. E ven if w e h ave se a patro l v essels, if the B antay D a g a t crew are n o t h o n e st and are cor
rupt— these w ill n ot ensure the success of the p rogram . ###
W H A T 'S IN --
w estern sa m a r
W estern Sam ar, b elo nging to R egion 8, sits on the third largest island in the co u n try . It is h illy w ith som e m ountains and n arrow strip o f lands.
Its m ajor industries are agriculture, m ining, jellyfish processing, logging, and co ttag e in d ustries. It a lso has 3,412 h a o f fish p ond s. Its m ajor products in clu de coconut, rice, corn, abaca, w oo d craft, sh ellcraft, an d bask et-w eaving.
W estern Sam ar h as 25 m unicip alities p o p u la te d b y o v e r h a lf a m illio n people. Its w orkforce are m o stly in the agriculture sector. L ike the rest of the country, the p eop le are h igh ly literate (85% ). — From the Philippine Regional Profiles
SEAFDEC/AQD and WESAMAR join efforts to establish a multi-species hatchery
B y M B S u r t i d a
O n-farm -research (O FR ) is the W estern S a m a r A g ric u ltu ra l D e v e lo p m e n t P ro g ra m m e ’ s (W E S A M A R ) w ord for new liv elih oo d projects conducted by m en and w om en w ho are m em bers of a com m unity organization.
W E SA M A R is a special project o f the D epartm ent o f A griculture and the E u ro pean U nion. It aim s to im prove the incom e and livelihood o f resource poor fishing and farm ing com m unities of W estern Sam ar by assisting them in establishing su stain
able and com m ercially viab le enterprises.
Som e of the projects in a coastal com m u
n ity in W e s te rn S a m a r is m u d c r a b fattening, grouper cage culture, pearl, m u s
sel and seaw eed culture, and tilapia d is
persal. M ost projects h ave now h ad p ro
duction success and h ave generated inter
e st in n e igh b o rin g b aran gays. A dded to this, the project area h as m angroves, p ro
d uctive sh allo w b ay s, and n um ero us is lan d s w ith e x ten siv e c o v es, m aking the area potentially rich as a m ajor aquaculture site.
Som e com m unity organizations under W E SA M A R are n o w read y to start sim i
lar projects w ith funding access, thus, it is foreseen that aq uaculture w ill be a m ajor developm ent in the area. B ut grow ing con
cerns for av ailab ility o f crab ju v en iles and grouper fingerlings h ave been articulated as these are scarce in the area. A t present, the w ild source can su p p ly the needs of the project but a m ulti-species hatchery has to be estab lish ed to m inim ize depletion of natural stocks. The com m unity m em bers do not h ave prio r experience in hatchery operation, thus, S E A F D E C /A Q D w as in v ite d to a c o lla b o r a tiv e p ro je c t w ith W E SA M A R to prov id e technical assist
ance until such project can be operated by
24 SE A FD E C Asian Aquaculture Vol . XXI No. 6 December 1999
