FAO, BFAR address biodiversity loss in Samar Sea
MANILA – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has warned that by 2050, catches of main fish species could decline by up to 40 percent in the tropics, where livelihoods, food and nutrition security strongly depend on the fisheries sector.
In the Samar Sea however, the situation is much more urgent. In the last 30 years, fish catch has dropped from 8kg per day to less than 3.5kg, according to the Samar Sea Fisheries Management Plan of 2016.
Various studies conducted by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), FAO and the Samar State University further underscore the considerable loss of biodiversity in this once prime fishing site. An earlier survey found that of the 50 commercially important fish species that existed in the Samar Sea in the 1980s, only 10 remained a decade later.
“The continued degradation of resources poses severe implications to the livelihoods and food security of the areas’ more than 23 000 fishers,” explains José Luis Fernández, FAO representative in the Philippines. “We are presented with the challenge of balancing human development needs with resource conservation efforts in order to ensure long-term and sustainable benefits.”
To address this crisis, the Philippines, through BFAR, is participating in a regional FAO programme for sustainable fisheries. The multi-country initiative implemented by the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Centre in the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, and Viet Nam applies the principles of Essential Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM). It involves a decision-making process that equally considers the economic needs of coastal communities and the necessity of conserving marine resources.
Trawl fisheries bycatch management
The degradation of the Samar Sea is linked to the increase in commercial fishing, overfishing and destructive fishing methods but its impact is disproportionately felt by families who depend on the ocean for their food and livelihoods.
“Driven by the basic need to eat and earn a living, many fishers in the area practice ‘trawling’ or literally scraping the bottom of the sea to catch bottom-dwelling fish and shellfish. This damages the coral reef and seabed, and contributes to the massive increase of bycatch,” Fernández added.
In trawl fishing, a staggering amount of marine life such as turtles, finfish, juveniles, among others, is also incidentally hauled with the catch. While some of this bycatch, specifically the low-value and “trash” fish, helps supplement the incomes of subsistence fishers and address household food insecurity, its prolonged negative impact on marine biodiversity could lead to the eventual closure of the area’s remaining productive fishing grounds.
With technical and operational support from FAO, BFAR is working in collaboration with the Samar Sea Alliance of Local Government Units, local fisheries managers, planners and development officers to formulate equitable policies and locally-responsive guidelines for the sustainable management of fisheries in the Samar Sea, including reducing bycatch from trawl fishing. FAO and BFAR are also cataloguing fishing gear and conducting critical habitat mapping and zoning of fishing grounds. In addition to exploring the potential benefits of establishing a closed season, the two agencies are also assessing livelihood requirements and building the capacity of stakeholders to sustain rehabilitation activities with an EAFM perspective.