Impacts of Typhoon Haiyan on Philippine capture fisheries and implications to fisheries management

Abstract

With New Washington-Batan estuary as study site, this study determined the impact of Typhoon Haiyan on capture fisheries through data that were collected before and after the typhoon event. To validate these results and to determine other related information (e.g., recovery of fishing after typhoon), key interviews and focus group discussions were conducted. The immediate impact of the typhoon event was disruption of fishing livelihood due to damage of fishing gears as about 94% of stationary fishing gears had considerable damage. Resumption of fishing operations varied largely among fishers depending on the degree of gear damage. Reconstruction of damaged stationary gears was hampered mainly by the financial capacity of fishers and the acute supply of bamboo which is the main component in the construction of these fishing gears. We also discuss typhoon impacts on other fishing gears such as line fishing, gillnets, and pots. These information are valuable in understanding impacts of extreme weather events on tropical small-scale fisheries so that managers may be able to devise measures to reduce vulnerabilities among coastal resource users.