TITLE:
Fishing and Rural Livelihood: A Philippine Context
AUTHORS:
Rosalina Palanca-Tan, Sheila Bongat-Bayog
KEYWORDS:
Fisheries, Aquaculture, Mindanao
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Animal Sciences,
Vol.11 No.1,
January
29,
2021
ABSTRACT: The Municipality of Lake Sebu in Mindanao,
Philippines offers various opportunities for income-generating fishing
activities with its abundant surface water bodies. Lake Sebu is particularly
known for good quality tilapia, farmed in fish cages. This study employed
primary data collection methods, namely key informant interview, focus group
discussion and a comprehensive livelihood household survey to assess the
conditions and problems constraining fishing households in Lake Sebu. The study
found that fishing-related benefits were mainly derived from aquaculture.
Capture fisheries are essentially very small-scale, low gear open fishing done
by local fisher folk that generates only subsistence income. Local residents
are mostly engaged in retail fish trading that likewise generate only
subsistence income. Survey results also revealed large variations in the scale
of aquaculture operations. Fish cage owners, who are not originally from Lake
Sebu or have residences outside Lake Sebu, are usually the large-scale fish
farm operators, while the locals are only engaged in small-scale aquaculture
due to limited financial sources. The study found that on the average,
fishing-dependent households earned an annual income of PHP 132,800 (US$ 2619), which was 15% lower than the average for
all household respondents, and that a substantial 63% of fishing-dependent households
live below the poverty line. It appears, therefore, that the rich water
resources in the municipality have not contributed substantially to poverty
alleviation. These findings point to the need for government assistance such as
aquaculture financing programs and the formation of fish farming cooperatives
to enable locals to engage in large-scale fish farming and reap the benefits of
economies of scale.