EVALUATION

oats/gears to determine the appropriate right sizing of fishing effort
according to the carrying capacity of fishing grounds in MKBAs. This
information has also guided LGUs to enact and enforce fishing closure and
zoning ordinances, tract and prevent fisheries law violators, and conserve
fish resources. All LGUs in four MKBAs have also enacted ordinances that
prohibited the use of destructive/illegal fishing gears, mostly within specific
municipal boundaries. The establishment of MPAs by some LGUs also
served as closed areas for fishing. Effective enforcement of right sizing,
however, requires neighboring LGUs in each MKBA to jointly support this
policy through the inter-LGU collaboration. At midterm, only LGUs in VIP
MKBA have enacted and enforced species-specific management policy (i.e.,
seasonal closure for pelagic fish) in Balayan Bay beyond politicoadministrative
boundaries, which was made possible by the active inter-
LGU collaboration. Essentially, the current approaches to regulate fishing
effort in four MKBAs consisted of: monetary measures (fines or penalties),
gear-regulating measures, closed areas and, to a certain extent, closed
seasons.
11. Did social capital and
leadership
catalyze/create
movement of LGUs
from startup fisheries
management to EAFM?
The few Municipal Mayors who were interviewed through KII have
expressed the importance of right sizing policy and the potential for
enacting the policy. However, they are also cautious about its enforcement
for lack of additional knowledge and information, such as; the methods of
reducing opportunism by segregating friendly and destructive fishing gears,
encouraging all fishers to ensure compliance, and motivating sustained
enforcement to reduce speculative fishing. All these information could be
provided by the project’s ongoing studies if completed as scheduled.
The project has measured social capital in terms of the presence of
leaders/political will, local champions, and the ability to resolve conflicts
among inter-LGUs. ECOFISH Project partnered with League of
Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) to support the training of newly
elected Mayors (also called ONE-M Program) in eight MKBA sites. It
supported the participation of five (5) current and past “champion” Mayors
to mentor newly elected Mayor on environmental governance, particularly
in coastal resources and fisheries management. ONE-M Program has aimed
to bring together all concerned Municipal Mayors to build a network of
cooperation and resource sharing in the form of a social capital that
produces improved foundations for EAFM for the common good of all
fishing households and communities. This program has been successful in
producing “champion” Mayors involved in ECOFISH and/or FISH Project,
or part of MOREFISH champions formed by FISH Project and LMP in the
past. In supporting ONE-M Program, the project was able to reach out to
other LGUs outside of eight MKBAs to share and promote best practices.
Apart from training, these LGUs have gained additional knowledge and
information through site-specific case studies that could enhance local
policies and plans for EAFM.
This social capital formation has shown initial positive effects. The inter-
LGU collaboration in SN MKBA exhibited the best example of how joint
action can lead to evolution of stronger strategic alliances and additional
Annex 5 - 5