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CHAPTER 6

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION This chapter deals with the summary, conclusions and recommendations of the study.

6.1 Summary The fishing gears and fish pond design involved in harvesting shrimp and crab and their perceived effects on five selected coastal areas along Panguil Bay are the focal concern of this study. They are specifically described in terms of activities involved, operations, and perceived effects on marine environment and human health and safety. The assessments of both fishing method were done a combination of quantitative and qualitative data gathering and analysis. The quantitative data are generated using questionnaire while the qualitative data are drawn from key informant interviewing. A total of 60 respondents and 15 key informants were the subjects of the study. The

respondents were selected using the snowball sampling while key informants were selected using purposive sampling method. The quantitative data were analyzed through weighted mean, percentage and frequency while qualitative data were analyzed using key informant charting. The data gathering was conducted in the month of May up to June 2010. Below are the highlights of the findings of the study as follows: The fishing gears involved in harvesting shrimp and crab are of nine types and categorized as active and passive gears. Such gears includes: baling (beach seine) and sud-sud de manu ( push Net) are both traditional active gears, while motorized sud-sud ( motorized push net) and trawl are modern active gears equipped with modern equipment. Their operations are by means of dragging and

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pushing on the sea bottom in both deep and shallow water ground. And they are equipped with heavy materials and fine synthetic nettings attached to specific parts that enhanced their catching method and efficiency. Since shrimps and crabs may either be naturally produced and harvested from the sea or cultured in fish ponds, the harvesting gears or methods that may be used from either of these habitats are classified as sea fishing gears and fish pond designs based methods. The use of these gears differs depending on certain seasonal geophysical attributes of the Bay, particularly: seasonal monsoon, tidal meters, moon position/ rotation, and tidal cycle. This is true especially when utilizing traditional sea fishing gears and traditional fish pond design. On the other hand, the modern sea fishing gears and semi-intensive design and intensive fish pond designs are basically operated using harmful chemicals and more advanced equipment like motor-canter boat with enlarged and modified parts. The sea fishing gears are of two kinds: traditional and modern; those of fish pond are of three types: traditional and semi-traditional and modern. Traditional fishing gears consist of crab trap (bu-bu), filter net (sanggab), seine net (baling), push net (sud-sud de manu), fish corral (bunsod), modified fish corral (paugmad). Seine net and push net are further classified as active gears while the rest are passive gears. The modern sea fishing gears include trawl and motorized push net and are classified as active gears which are operated by means of dragging and pushing into the sea bottom in both deep and shallow water ground. They are equipped with heavy materials and fine synthetic nettings attached to specific parts that enhance their catching capability and efficiency. In case of passive gears such as sanggab (filter net), paugmad (modified fish corral), and bunsod (fish coral) are operated in the absence of moving. Their catching method is through the use of fine synthetic nettings by means of scooping when net is oriented to strong water current during water interchange.

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The operation of both traditional active gears and all passive gears are highly manifested in the factors affecting the manner of using them which include fishing activities, fishing trips and quantity of catch. By contrast modern active gears are operated using mobile boat in harvesting and do not requires the interplay of influencing factors in using them. During the southwest, northeast and extra-season monsoon, the use of all traditional fishing gears covers an average of 42 harvesting days and 48 non-harvesting days and with an average of 2-8 kilos per harvest and/or overall harvest ranging 48 and above kilos during the whole season-round. Their high frequency of use and quantity of catch is attributed to the favourable conditions present during these seasons: the simultaneous occurrence of turbid sea surface and strong water current favours the operations of these gears. In other words lacking of such simultaneous occurrence indicates non-harvesting days/ periods that are commonly observed during interval monsoon. The fish pond designs are classified into three, namely: traditional, semiintensive and intensive. The classification is based mainly on the site selection, construction, stocking, seedling selection, feeding system and harvesting system. The activities involved in semi-intensive design are the removal of mangroves, the use of pesticides during harvesting and preparation for the next cultivation, feeing with artificial feeds contains anti-biotic, and the use of lime to supplement the nutrients requirement in rearing cultured shrimp and crab, and the dumping of excessive sediments on the river canal. The associated activities in using intensive design is the excessive use of lime to enhance algal production inside the pond while for the traditional pond design is hatching of fry in wild through water exchange.

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Certain of fishing gears and fish pond designs have been using are generally perceived to have brought degradation of marine resources. Among the various forms of marine degradation created in using them includes: the banishing of seagrass, banishing of coral reefs, sedimentation/ shallowing of water ground, and loss of mangroves. Traditional and modern active gears are considered destructive fishing gears that can disturb the natural habitats and other marine plants near shore and at mid sea when transient during their operation. While passive gears are equipped with fine synthetic nettings that catching eggs and fingerlings during their operation. Semi-intensive and intensive designs involved the use of toxic chemicals during pre-cultivation, feeding, rearing, harvesting and preparation for the next cultivation are damaging to marine resources. Both are likewise requires removal of mangrove for concreting of subfloor and dikes for canal system and to limit productivity of other species around pond area while traditional design is associated with hatching of wild stocks. Effects on human health and safety are likewise examined. Based on the responses shared by respondents and informants, minor physical (body pains, minor injury, etc.) and internal problems (intestinal problems, cardio vascular problem, etc.) are normal body reaction because of the physical strength required during operation of gears. Fish pond production is highly associated with incidence of poisoning among children and fish pond owners who are directly exposed to the chemical inputs reflected on their delayed healing of wounded skin.

6.2 Conclusion Harvesting fishing gears are further differentiated as active and passive fishing gears, as defined by R.A 8550. Active gears are those which involves movement to harvest while passive are those with stationary method or absence of

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moving. Those distinguished as active are illegal or destructive fishing gears that can disturb the naturally habitats and other marine plants near shore or at mid water. In his study, what may be considered active fishing gears consists of paugmad, pukot pang-alimango, baling, sudsud de mano, motorized sudsud and trawl. Two of the active fishing gears are baling (drag seine) and sud-sud de manu (push net). These two fishing gears are operated at sea grasses areas near seashore by means of dragging and by pushing with heavy materials at the bottom of the sea. Specifically, they have mesh bunt less than 3 cm with or without tidal force during harvesting. This is in violation of Sec1, Art 9 and sec 43, Art 10 of R.A 8550 stating that fishing with the use of nets with 3 bunt mesh size of less than three cm but not limited to force of tidal current are restricted. It prevents catching premature eggs and fingerlings during their productive season. This is as much true in the case of passive gears like filter net, modified fish coral, fish coral, the use of which have violated the same provision of this law. These fishing gears could catch fingerlings with their less than 3 cm meshes during tidal current force. As an assessment study conducted by MSU-Naawan assessment project on gears has shown, filter net, fish coral, and modified fish coral contain bag net which increased to 4 cm but the force of tidal current and accumulation of flotsams and debris in the bay may constraint the meshes to 0 cm, validating the assumption that it could trap the very small larvae and even the eggs of fishes and crustaceans. In addition, such modern fishing methods as filter net, fish coral, and modified fish coral are totally banned fishing gearsdue to dragging and pushing means of harvest on the sub seabed that disturb and devastate totally the ground ecosystem when these are passed through during harvesting. These fishing

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gearshave been absolutely stopped in the year 1992 when authorities conducted several monitoring from day and night. The use of these fishing gears however, is not peculiar to Panguil Bay, it is rather either borrowed from foreign models from abroad or from other coastal communities. Yet, their basic principles of operation, innovations, alternative materials and inter-seasonal adaptations account for their similar functions efficiency. Fish pond production activities involved in semi-traditional fish pond design such as the removal of mangroves and the use of pesticides during harvesting and preparation for the next production are in violation of the fisheries code of 1995 (R.A 8550), that prohibits and restricts the use of chemicals and discharging of toxic waste into sea water and of R.A 383 which restricts, the dumping into river of refuse, water matter, or substances of any kind, prohibits the cutting of mangrove trees for any purpose along coastal areas of the bay. The traditional design violates section 2 of R.A 8550 which prohibits the hatchery of wild stocks. Despite these restrictions, reality indicates that fisher folk still

continue using destructive fishing gears in sea and fish pond designs which enable them to obtain greater yields regardless of their effects on marine resources, as well as on human health and safety.

6.3 Recommendation Based on the findings and limitations of the study, the following

recommendations are advanced: The government, including DENR and other line agencies, concerned local government units and non-government

organizations must collaborate in establishing community-based coastal resource management system and with built-in mechanism for strategic planning,

implementation, monitoring and evaluation to ensure effective enforcement of

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relevant environment laws. Qualitative studies should be conducted on womens access to and control of shrimp and crab production techniques and how they are affected by such techniques. Other marine resources may be studied both qualitatively and quantitatively for their sustainability and effects on human and environment.

Specifically, the following recommendations are shared statements of Prof. Acuna, 2008 during our interview with him at MSU-Naawan to properly conserve and manage the fish resources in Panguil Bay: a. Implement all pertinent laws and ordinances regarding the proper use of the resource of the Bay as embodied in national legislations (i.e. Section 3, Local Government Code of 1991 or RA 7160; Philippine Fishery Code of 1998 or RA 8550). b. Reactivate the dormant Panguil Bay Development Council to implement appropriate conservation and management of the bays resources through a stronger political will among the concerned government officials to effect change in the present mode of environmental governance. c. All concerned agencies within the LGUs should prepare feasibility studies on value-added post-harvest initiatives for the exploited resources in the bay, including approaches to optimize their utilization the whole year round and the infrastructure needed (e.g. ice plants, processing plants, etc.). d. Provision of viable alternative livelihood for fishers as an adaptation measure against diminishing fish resources.