Philippine coastal fisheries situation

The fisheries sector in the Philippines provides a significant contribution to the na-tional economy in terms of income, foreign exchange and employment. In 2000, total fish production was estimated at 2.94 million t, 84% of which was derived from marine capture fisheries. The export of fish and related fishery products amounted to about US$400 million in the same year. Between 1984 and 1997, the fisheries sector contributed between 3.8% to 5.0% of the national GDP and 18.4% to 20.6% of the agricultural GDP in the same period. The fisheries sector also provided employment to about 1 million people in 1997. This paper reviews the Philippine coastal fisheries situation in terms of the status of the marine/coastal environment, resource potential, socioeconomic aspects of the fisheries and management measures to sustain the fishery. It also presents the prob-lems, opportunities and recommendations for sustainable exploitation of coastal fish stocks based on a multi-sectoral workshop under the “Sustainable Management of Coastal Fish Stocks in Asia” Project in September 2000. We highlighted the following areas that should be addressed in attaining improved fisheries management in the context of the Philippines: (1) maintaining integrity of coastal stocks and habitats; (2) maintaining the integrity of shared stocks; (3) maximizing economic benefits from utilization of resources; (4) promotion of equity in sharing benefits from the utilization of the resources; (5) minimizing conflicts among resource users; and (6) minimizing poverty among small scale fishers.