EVALUATION

o Fish visual census inside and outside MPA: 1.89 percent (VIP), -28 percent (SN); and
o Fisheries: -35.8 percent (DR).
Key Result B achieved nearly 50 percent of target at midterm based on proxy indicators:
o Expenditures: 37 percent (SN), 89 percent (CIG);
o Sea food diet: 18 percent (SN), 89 percent (CIG); and
o Enforcement: 40 percent (SN), 10 percent (CIG).
Key Result C achieved more than 50 percent of target.
Key Result D achieved more than 82 percent if target.
Key Result E achieved more than 55 percent of target.
Key Result F achieved more than 38 percent of target.
Objective 3: The main challenges at midterm include: (i) demonstration of enabled, operating
and earning social enterprise; and (ii) piloting of a market-based instrument to support LGUs’
capacity to shift from fisheries management to EAFM.
Conclusions
Using the TOC as reference, ECOFISH Project is able to set up the measures and processes to
collect information that would allow USAID and its stakeholders to answer all the 12 evaluation
questions by end of implementation. The desired economic outcomes can be achieved during
the project life if it provides targeted and strategic interventions, with emphasis on one or two
MKBAs to demonstrate operational and profitable social enterprises.
ECOFISH Project is on track in delivering its key results. The accomplishment rates of the six
key results are significant or above 50% of targets at midterm, and most targets are likely to be
achieved within the project life. However, substantive efforts need to be devoted to increasing
economic and livelihood outputs, such as operating profitable enterprises, and revenue and
financing schemes for LGUs to reduce fishing pressures and provide alternative income options
to fishing households. Under the leadership of BFAR, the project provided technical assistance
in the development of FishR and BoatR, two of the most important innovations rolled-out to
reduce fishing pressures not only in eight MKBAs but also throughout the entire country.
The benchmark data on EAFM obtained from self-assessments of LGUs showed 19 of targeted
30 LGUs achieved EAFM Level 2 status at midterm. The MPE team’s independent assessment of
LGUs’ progress from fisheries management to EAFM showed that only LGUs in VIP MKBA
reached EAFM Level 2 benchmark criteria. The team noticed that some supporting documents
(e.g., multi-institutional collaboration, gear-specific management and revenue measures
enforced) were unavailable during field verification. Currently, the project is already looking at
improving the self-assessment methodology.
Nevertheless, these 19 LGUs are all gearing to demonstrate “right sizing” of fishing effort in line
with the results chain indicated in the TOC. “Right sizing” was coined by ECOFISH Project to
promote the concept of finding the balance between the ecological capacities of MKBAs and
fishing activities in those areas. The project is presently developing a design to incorporate this
concept as the core of the fisheries management plan for inter-LGU collaborations. Moreover,
the project will have to focus on the remaining 11 LGUs to attain EAFM Level 2 status.
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