Comanagement for aquaculture: Suggestions from a comparative study between two major production areas of milkfish in the Philippines

ABSTRACT

This study examined if, and how, comanagement is effective in controlling aquaculture industry in the municipalities of Anda and Bolinao in the province of Pangasinan, in the Philippines, the locations of two major production areas of milkfish (Chanos chanos) in the country. Institutional and community analyses conducted in these study sites revealed a unique hierarchy of resource users, as well as unique social and economic problems in aquaculture, distinct from those of capture fishery. It was also indicated that comanagement is seen as a solution for essential practices to be enforced practically and sustainably for the management of this industry. To improve aquaculture governance, it is desired that the comanagement scheme shall include not only the governments and fishers but also business operators who often have large capital and a high degree of power.

KEYWORDS:

• Aquaculture governance
• fishing community
• mariculture
• fish kill

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Yukio Nagahama, Yoshinobu Takishita, Sarrah Liong, Yvette Geroleo, and staff of the Bolinao Marine Laboratory, Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines, for their assistance with our field surveys. We also wish to thank Kimio Uno at Keio University and Nobuyuki Yagi and Hisashi Kurokura at University of Tokyo for offering meaningful assistance in analyzing and writing this article.

Funding

This research was supported by JST-JICA, Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) and by Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED) fund.

Supplementary Material

Supplementary data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Notes

¹ The Fishery Ordinance document was not provided by Municipality of Anda; however, interview results for MAO Anda showed that similar documents exist in Anda as well.

² Calculation is based on the assumption that each facility has one caretaker.

³ Calculation is based on the assumption that each facility has one caretaker.

⁴ In this article, “big owners” are persons who own more than 10 facilities.

⁵ According to the interview for aquaculture owners.

⁶ Aquaculture owners prohibit fishers catching fish not only inside the facilities but also around those since they have sometimes experienced the fish stolen from the facilities.

⁷ Robinson and Pascal (2009) reported a good practice of a village-based aquaculture program that has been carried out with local people, NGOs, academe, and private companies.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by JST-JICA, Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) and by Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED) fund.