EVALUATION

which has strong implications for fishers at the local level, and policymakers at the national
level. ECOFISH Project provided technical assistance in the development of FishR and BoatR
- two of the most important innovations rolled-out to reduce fishing pressures across the
country. More importantly, FishR and BoatR enabled LGUs to carry out fisher, boat and gear
registrations, which were unimplemented provisions of the Fisheries Code since its
enactment into law in 1998. These policies applied to all LGUs nationwide, not just in
ECOFISH Project sites.
The TV White Space Supported Fisher Registration in DR MKBA provided internet
connectivity in six (6) remote coastal municipalities in Bohol province in support of DA-
BFAR’s FishR program. In March 2015, ECOFISH Project received the Public-Private
Partnership (P3) Impact Award in US for advancing innovation to promote sustainable fishing
and save lives, particularly in facilitating registration of 3,663 fishers in DR MKBA. In 2013,
this facility also served as a hub to facilitate communications between LGUs and relief
workers for delivering assistance to Bohol earthquake-affected households in coastal
municipalities when all communication networks were inoperative.
The study on the seasonal closure for small pelagics was used as the basis for a policy
decision to implement the closed season in Balayan Bay, Batangas province. This is expected
to result in increased harvest of this species in the near future because of the improved
condition for fishes to spawn. A continuing enforcement of the closed season policy can
eventually help in the recovery of fish stock in VIP MKBA.
Under this Key Result, the project also provided technical assistance to BFAR and LGUs in the
following aspects: (i) technical support for development and drafting of a Research Agenda for
National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI) including development of a
standard training curriculum for their National Stock Assessment Program (NSAP), (ii) technical
and legal support provided to the “hulbot-hulbot” case, and (iii) technical support and served as
convenor to a series of forums to provide science-based information for effective and efficient
recovery and rehabilitation of Bohol earthquake-affected LGUs and communities.
FGD and KII respondents identified capacity building as the most important ECOFISH Project
interventions. Of the 17 training courses provided, 13 were identified to have contributed in
increasing their capacity: law enforcement; FishR and BoatR; boundary delineation and CRM;
MPA management; simple accounting; project proposal development; business planning; marine
spatial planning; fish catch monitoring; financial planning; fiberglass boat building; and seaweed
culture.
Key Result D: Eight PPP supporting the objectives of ECOFISH Project created and
operating. At midterm, seven (7) PPPs were established out of LOP target of eight (8) PPPs,
representing 88 percent accomplishment (Table 7). Five PPPs directly linked to conservation
measures were satisfactorily completed, the most successful of which is BFAR’s national FishR
implementation in collaboration with Microsoft Philippines, and 700 Dedicated Alert Lines for
Ocean Biodiversity (700 Daloy) with SMART Communications as piloted in DR and TT MBKAs,
respectively. FishR has facilitated valuable compliance in the registration of fishers in DR MKBA,
as noted above. Based on the project report, FishR recorded over 1.5 million registrants or
roughly three-quarters of the total number of fishers nationwide. Moreover, 700 Daloy
improved information flows between the public, police, and other enforcement agencies to
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