A rapid assessment of the status, trends and challenges in small-scale commercial sardine fisheries in the Sulu Archipelago, southern Philippines

Abstract

Sardines are a crucial component of Philippine capture fisheries, providing economic benefits and contributing to food security. This study aimed to provide an overview of the status, trends and challenges in the sardine fishery in the Sulu Archipelago, a major fishing ground for sardines, focusing on the traditional but less-documented small-scale commercial ringnets or locally called kulibu. The modern kulibu has an average size of about 10 gross tons and is operated by 7–15 crew members. We estimated about 500 kulibu vessels operating in the entire Sulu Archipelago, with Sulu having the most, followed by Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, respectively. The normal catch rates of a kulibu ranged from 10 to 20 tubs or banggera per night, with each banggera containing about 40 kg of fish. While some fishers reported that catches are still abundant and did not change much over the past three decades, we have identified some signs of overfishing. These include using of advanced technology and bigger boats/nets, expansion of fishing to more distant areas, the increasing frequency of low to zero catches, and a change in species composition indicative of fishing down marine foodwebs. Fishers have identified major issues and challenges confronting the fishery, such as intrusion of larger purse seiners into their fishing grounds, lack or inefficiency of post-harvest facilities, absence of a reliable market for their catches, and security risks at sea. To provide a comprehensive perspective, we adopted the Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA) framework, highlighting the broader implications of our findings for fishery management.Bottom of Form