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Archives (2004)

Conserving Lingayen Gulf resources by Rita T. de la Cruz

April-June 2004 Volume 6 No. 2

Lingayen Gulf

As a major area for capture fisheries and coastal aquaculture in Northwestern Luzon, Lingayen Gulf provides 1.5% the country's fish supply. It provides livelihood and food to small-scale fishermen living along the coastal areas with an average catch of 6,000 metric tons annually. Its highest contribution is in aquaculture which is 74% of the gulf's total production. But the gulf now faces various problems like fishkills. The fishermen fear that the fishery resources may soon come to a “dead end”.

In the study of Dr. Sotero M. Aban of Pangasinan State University, he cited seven problems that need to be addressed by the municipality and that could also serve as important basis to design a management scheme for the conservation of the coastal resources of Lingayen Gulf. Among the critical issues and problems identified were: poverty, illegal fishing, fishkills, overfishing, pollution, low catch, and squatting.

Identifying the root cause of the problem
The fisherfolk in Lingayen Gulf sees poverty as the main problem why the coastal resources are nearing depletion. The specific concerns under poverty include: low family income, low educational attainment, lack of employment, high population growth rate, and the lack of awareness on coastal resources management (CRM).

Another main problem is illegal fishing, the most common practice among the fishermen of Lingayen Gulf. This problem is caused by unregulated trading of illegal fishing materials and chemicals due to the ineffective enforcement of fishery laws and ordinances. The lack of alternative livelihood also pushes fishermen to fish illegally.

Fishkill was identified to be another cause of the exhaustion of the coastal resources. Massive fishkills occurred in all municipalities in 1994. Fishkill occurred due to the abuse of aquaculture technology that was adopted by a large number of fish farmers particularly in Binmaley, Dagupan City, and Lingayen and recently by the fisherfarmers of Bolinao and Bani. Other causes of fishkills are poor domestic waste disposal, coastal pollution, and soil erosion and siltation.

High dependence on fishing as the primary source of income seemed to be the biggest root cause of overfishing in Lingayen Gulf, which again, is rooted on the lack of an alternative livelihood.

Other equally important issues and concerns are pollution, low catch, and squatting. Pollution was aggravated due to excess feeding and deposits of waste from mariculture of milkfish in pens and cages, and the improper disposal of chemicals from ponds, improper disposal of industrial and domestic wastes, and dynamite and cyanide fishing. Fisherfolk blame low catch to overfishing in the municipal waters and the influx of transient fishermen while the unavailability of housing facilities and lack of permanent residence forced some fishermen to squat near the coast. Squatting has become rampant also because of the underdeveloped tourist attraction and facilities.

Solutions and possible actions
The threat against the possible depletion of the coastal resources of Lingayen Gulf could be solved with the appropriate management plan of conservation but this, too, needs the cooperation of the fisherfolk themselves. The coastal ecosystems of Lingayen Gulf represent a huge and natural economic resource not only for the province of Pangasinan by providing food and livelihood for the people living along the area but it has wider implication to the whole economy of the country. And so when the fisherfolk were asked what solutions are needed to solve the threat against the possible depletion of fishery resources they immediately recommended for the provisions of appropriate alternative livelihood and creation of employment opportunities through eco-tourism development. If farmers have other means to live, they would not have to fully rely on fishing as source of food and livelihood, thus illegal fishing, fishkills and squatting are minimized (if not stopped).

The fishermen also stressed the importance of a strict implementation of fishery laws and ordinances to control, if not to stop illegal fishing, altogether. Policymakers must have the political will and intensified advocacy, information, education and communication campaign to effectively conserve and better protect the coastal resources.

Likewise, it is also important to have coastal zoning and dismantling of illegal fishpens and cages in the rivers and coastal waters to avoid the occurrence of fishkills. Pollution is best resolved with proper discipline among the people living in the area themselves through continuous cleaning of the coastal areas and regulation of mariculture operations in rivers and ponds within the Gulf.

According to the result of the study, local and national government interventions are also important in this endeavor to conserve the coastal resources of Lingayen Gulf. Institutional development initiatives and actions had been taken by national government agencies to immediately address major issues and problems. Unfortunately, despite these institutional efforts and initiatives, the dwindling state of the fishery resources remains. On the part of the people living along the coastal areas, there is also a need for the fishermen to be aware of the real root of the problems and their role and participation in solving these problems. Hopefully, with an increased level of awareness and an effective management plan to conserve the area, the threat of coastal resources depletion becomes a no “dead end” for the fishermen in Lingayen Gulf.

Source:
Dr. Sotero M. Aban of the College of Fisheries, Binmaley Campus, Pangasinan State University, Pangasinan, Philippines. “Status of the Fisheries Resources Management in Sectors I and II of Lingayen Gulf”

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