special report • CFRM in malalison island
TU R F in M alalison
BY MB Surtida
G ranting o f territorial use rights in fisheries (T U R F) has been recom m ended as a m anagem ent tool for m unicipal fisheries. It includes the right to lim it or control access to a territory, the right to determ ine the am ount and kind o f use w ithin the territory, and the right to extract ben
efits from the use of the resources w ithin the territory.
A lo n g sid e tw o o th er c o m p o nents, the T U R F concept w as d is
cussed in M alalison Island as early as 1990 d u rin g the site selectio n phase of the C FRM project. The con
c e p t w a s tr a n s la te d in to p o lic y through M unicipal O rdinance No. 5- 90 designating one square kilom eter b etw een M a la liso n and C u la si as TU R F area and shall be for the e x clu siv e use o f the F ish erm an ’ s A ssociation of M alaliso n Island (FAM I) in im p le m e n tin g se a fa rm in g a c tiv itie s. In 1991, M unicipal O rdinance No. 2-91 w as adopted as an addendum , prohibiting in
cursion of illegal transient fishers and en try o f big fishers.
W h e n th e p r o j e c t w a s f o r m a lly launched in 1991, the concept and princi
ples w ere again discussed during the first general assem bly of the com m unity m em bers. “ The T U R F concept has since been a regular topic o f conversation in formal and inform al d iscussio ns am ong the m em bers o f FAM I, A Q D , and PR O C ESS F ounda
tion (the com m unity organizing arm of the project)," reported A gbayani & Babol.
In a 1992 study, the acceptability of T U R FS under P hilippine conditions w as conducted am ong coastal d w ellers in five m u n ic ip a litie s in P an ay Isla n d . C u lasi, M ala liso n ’s m ainland, w as included in the study. The results o f the survey show ed a readiness of the fisherfolk for the practice
of TURF. The study also found that with assistance from governm ent and non
governm ent organizations, fisherfolk can be organized to solve the problem of inad
equate catch.
B ut Jelson Dayo, an active m em ber of FAM I said in an interview in D ecem ber 1998 that the TU RF established in 1990 ( 1 x 1 km 2 as provided for by M O #5-90) w as not enforced until the present time.
S a y in g th at a p ik ta d o a n g p a n g a b u h ia n sa n g taw o (the livelihood of people are af
fected), the m unicipal ordinance could not be enforced even if they already knew the benefits to be derived from the ordinances.
T hus, as the project progressed, revisions on the concept of TU R F were form ulated.
In a FAM I m anifesto, TU R F w as de
fined as the proper utilization, m an
agem ent, and control by FAMI of the body of w ater surrounding M alalison Island. There were tw o com ponents of TU RF: ( 1) fish sanctuary and (2) d e p lo y m en t o f co n crete artificial reefs.
Fish sanctuary w as defined as the habitat o f fish and other aquatic species and that fishing of any type w as prohibited. Artificial reefs (ARs) are the m an-m ade structures to serve as fish h ab ita ts. F ish in g in areas w here A Rs were deployed w ould be regulated in term s of types of gears and fishing season. C om m ercial fish
ers w ould be banned in the TU R F area w hile illegal fishing practices such as dynam ite, cyanide, fine-mesh net and other destructive gears w ould not be allow ed in the AR area.
In the enforcem ent of the TURF, FAMI agreed on the fo llo w ing guidelines:
(1) fine of P 1,000, confiscation of fish catch, and filing of case against those caught fishing inside the fish sanctuary;
(2) charging of fishing fee for those fishing in areas w here A R s are deployed at the rate of 5% of the value of their catch for non- M alalison fishers and 1% for M alalison fishers;
(3) there w ill no fishing during spaw ning season of selected fishes.
The M alalison fish sanctuary ordinance w as technically approved one m onth after 13 July 1995 when the M alaliso n B arangay C ouncil sub m itted the o rd in an ce to the C ulasi M unicipal C ouncil. The delay was due to the lack of experience of the mu- A rem inder of the rules and regulations
(including penalties) governing the fish sanctuary is p u t up.
20 SEAFDEC Asian Aquaculture Vol. XX No. 6 December 1998
special report • CFRM in malalison island
nicipal council regarding the parliam entary procedures on ordinances em anating from the barangays using the Local G overnm ent Code as a legal fram ework.
M eanw hile, as m entioned earlier, the M unicip ality o f C ulasi granted a T U R F covering a 1 km 2 located betw een C ulasi m ainland and M alalison Island to FA M I as early as 1990 at the start of the CFRM . But there were no rules and rights defined in the use and m anagem ent of the TU R F area.
T his m anifesto w as further confirm ed by a com m unity-initiated survey conducted in O ctober-D ecem ber 1995 to determ ine the follow ing:
• w hether fishers agree to the concept of TU R F;
• determ ine the types of fishing gears to be allow ed in the area;
• am ount of fee (percentage of value of catch) that the fishers are w illing to pay FAM I to defray expenses in overseeing the fishing activities in the T U R F area.
A total of 146 respondents from M alalison and 6 coastal barangays facing M alalison were interview ed. The survey show ed that 61% w ere in favor, 5% against, the rest undecided about the im p lem en tatio n of TURF. A majority o f the respondents w ere against net fishing in the T U R F area e s
p e c ia lly d e stru c tiv e o n es. R e sp o n d e n ts were also against the use o f com pressor in spear fishing. A ny kind of hook and line fishing gears w ere acceptable to the re
spondents.
Today, FAM I m em bers are satisfied with the fish sanctuary, a m odification of the original concept of TURF. Mr. Dayo m entioned that to be very successful, the fish sanctuary should have concrete artifi
cial reefs. He said that people truly guard the 600 m eter diam eter area so that only fish outside of such can be caught. V iola
tors arc penalized depending on the offense.
N o doubt both TU R Fs give us valuable les
sons. ###
P la n s a n d p r o g r a m s p o s t e r a t M a la lis o n B a r a n g a y H a ll.
SEAFDEC Asian Aquaculture Vol. XX No. 6 December 1998 21
