Illegal fishing still threatens Misamis Oriental bay

Illegal fishing continues to threaten the sustainability of the marine resources of Panguil Bay, a rich fishing ground in Misamis Oriental in Northern Mindanao (Region 10).

This, notwithstanding the intervention measures being instituted to improve the status of Panguil Bay, said researchers of the Mindanao State University (MSU)-Naawan campus in Misamis Oriental.

The researchers are Proserpina Roxas, Renoir Abrea, Rodrigo Acuña, Elvira Adan, William Adan, Asuncion de Guzman, Magdalena Dulay, Cesaria Jimenez, Jaime Jimenez, Alita Openiano, and Wilfredo Uy.

They recorded their findings on the condition of Panguil Bay in a report entitled "The Resources, Socioeconomic Conditions, and Institutional and Policy Characteristics of Panguil Bay, Philippines: A Management Challenge."

The report placed third in the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA) R&D Papers Awards (Socioeconomic Research category) given by the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research during the DA-BAR-organized 18th National Research Symposium held recently.

The MSU researchers noted that Panguil Bay’s habitat cover and number of fish species have declined since 1991.

"Poverty is pervasive; illegal fishing remains a major threat but fishermen are aware of the critical resource and ecological conditions of Panguil Bay," they said.

The researchers studied the impact of previous interventions by assessing coastal habitats, fishery resources and fishing operations, socioeconomic conditions, institutional arrangements, and the policy climate on the bay.

They found that the bay had 157 reef species, 72 seaweed, 48 seagrass-associated and eight seagrass fauna species, and 21 mangrove and 15 mangrove-associated marine species.

Most of the bay’s 136 finfish, 21 crustacean, 11 bivalve, three caphalopod and two gastropod species are commercially important, they said.

The researchers also observed that monitored landed catch has declined. The quantities of fish and shrimps sampled for analysis were small.

Villagers harvest mud crabs all year round.