of the Verde Island Passage, Philippines - weADAPT

climate change vulnerability assessment of the verde island passage, philippines
ii. Tuna fisheries: VULNERABLE
At least 15% of fisheries production in all three
provinces consisted of tuna (skipjack, yellowfin, and big
eye). For the last three years from 2005 to 2007, the
three provinces collectively caught, on average, 6,000
MT a year valued at P400 million pesos,. Data from
BAS indicated that Batangas province earns about
P180 million per year, consistent with the findings of
Soliman (unpublished manuscript) that together, Mabini
and Tingloy fisheries have a value of P172 million
(including demersals).
Since both municipal and commercial sectors exploit
the tuna fisheries, the disaggregation of volume
and value was done by determining the percentage
contribution of the two sectors to total production. In
Verde Island Passage, the ratio of tuna catch is 1:4 with
the municipal sector contributing 25% of production.
In terms of value, the municipal sector earns about P32
million compared to P95 million for the commercial
sector.
Municipal tuna fisheries were found to be more
vulnerable to climate change than commercial fisheries
(Table 6). Income from municipal fishers contributed
to less than half of the poverty threshold especially
in Mindoro—even assuming that municipal fishing
exploited tuna, small pelagics and demersal fisheries.
Shifting of tuna aggregations to deeper waters will
not bode well for the municipal sector and incomes
are bound to decline even further as operational costs
increase. The commercial sector will be better able to
accommodate these changes in tuna behavior. Being a
migratory species, tuna may not be directly influenced
by habitat conditions; however, impacts on the food
chain due to changing biophysical conditions, and
generally, on food availability for tuna poses a larger
potential issue.
Tuna is an important food fish and substantial numbers
of people depend on tuna for livelihood; thus, it was
found to be highly vulnerable in terms of its contribution
to the economic sector. There was a lack of data to
suggest that tuna fishing approximates a social activity
or that tuna fishers are not engaged in other forms of
livelihood but we assumed that vulnerability was low
due to general engagement of fishers in other economic
activities such as trade, services, and other seasonal
employment (especially in Batangas province).
The SEVI for tuna was on the low side; however, when
the climate change impacts were considered, the CCVI
showed that tuna are mildly vulnerable due to potential
changes in tuna behavior.
iii. Small pelagics: VULNERABLE
Due to its contribution to fisheries production in the
Verde Island Passage and food security, the small
pelagics fishery is highly vulnerable to climate change
impacts. Incomes of municipal fishers may be taken as
similar to that of tuna fisheries; thus, municipal fishers
are vulnerable due to lower incomes.
Small pelagic fish are known to react to changes in
temperature and this may well be happening in Verde
Island Passage where temperatures have increased,
on average, by about 4ºC. As in tuna fisheries, we
assume that this fishery does not constitute a social
activity and that other forms of livelihood are gaining
importance in the aggregation of household income. In
Bauan, Batangas, for example, focus group discussion
participants reported that currently only 50% of the
community are fishers as opposed to 80-90% fifty
years ago. This indicates the broadening of income
sources in the province, which may not yet be true for
the Mindoro provinces. As with tuna, the SEVI of small
pelagics indicates a low socio-economic vulnerability;
however, when coupled with climate change impacts,
the CCVI shows a higher index.
iv. Demersals: VULNERABLE
Production trends in the demersal fishery mirror the
pattern of exploitation. Demersal fisheries tend to be
overexploited first and this is the case for the Verde
Island Passage fisheries. Production levels are below
10,000 MT per year and the threat posed by climate
change is high because of the high dependence
of demersal species on coral reef and soft bottom
communities.
As in the case of small pelagics, municipal fishers are
more vulnerable than commercial fishers due to already
low incomes but also due to their inability to adapt by
changing gear or by mechanization. The assumptions
pertaining to social activity and diversity of options are
the same as for small pelagics and tuna.
v. Seaweeds: VULNERABLE
Seaweeds resulted in a Medium to HIGH SEVI due
to its economic importance, its role as an alternative
livelihood provider for women, and its dependence
on water quality conditions. When climate change
impacts are overlain on the socio economic vulnerability
for seaweeds, the CCVI shows an increase due to
the dependency of seaweed culture on water quality
conditions and observations that an increase in sea
surface temperature may have negative impacts on
bottom farming of seaweeds.
vi. Fishponds: LOW VULNERABILITY
Fishponds are more vulnerable to coastal inundation
and decrease in water especially during dry seasons;
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