COASTAL HABITATS & FISHERY RESOURCES CORON, PALAWAN

COASTAL HABITATS & FISHERY RESOURCES CORON, PALAWAN

FISHERY RESOURCES Similar to municipalities of Taytay and El Nido, the coastal habitats and fishery resources of the municipality of Coron are continuously being degraded. The identified physical threats are the: (1) cutting of mangroves for household use and charcoal making, and (2) use of destructive and illegal fishing methods such as cyanide, Danish seine, and drive-in net. Residents claim that these illegal and destructive fishing methods are usually done by non-resident fishers and still continue due to weak law enforcement. Generally, the trend in catch of all gears over the past three years is decreasing and has badly affected the income of fisher-families.

STATUS OF COASTAL HABITATS: MANGROVES Table 4.2 Areal extent and perceived condition of mangroves in selected coastal barangays of Coron, Palawan # Selected coastal Areal Extent of Mangroves (ha) a Perceived Condition b 1. 1 5.95-2. 6 104.95-3. Banuang Daan 5.88 Good 4. Bulalacao 165.81 Good 5. Cabugao 30.60 Excellent 6. Malawig 0.57 Excellent 7. Marcilla 221.18 Good Total 534.94 a With data from the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff (2006b) and concurred during the FGD a Perceived condition of mangroves as revealed in the FGD. It has four categories: Excellent ( 76% cover), Good (51-75%), Fair (26-50%), and Poor ( 25%) from Deguit et al., 2004 Number of HHIs = 152 Table 4.3 Uses of mangrove in selected coastal barangays of Coron, Palawan # Type of Use Bgy1 Bgy6 BDa Bul Cab Mal Mar 1. Fishing 1 1 1 2. Gleaning 1 1 1 1 3. Household use Legend: 1 4. Protection from waves and wind Clearing 5. Spawning ground of fish Household Use Charcoal Production Legend: Bgy1 1; Bgy6 6; BnD Banuang Pollution Daan; Bul and Dumping Bulalacao of Garbage Cab Cabugao; Mal Malawig; Mar Marcilla 1 With users from other barangays Legend: Clearing Household Use Charcoal Production Pollution and Dumping of Garbage Illegal Fishing Activities Commercial Use Natural Causes Illegal Fishi Commercial Natural Cau

STATUS OF COASTAL HABITATS: SEAGRASS BEDS Table 4.4 Areal extent and perceived condition of seagrass beds in selected coastal barangays of Coron, Palawan # Selected coastal Areal Extent of Seagrass Beds (ha) a Perceived Condition b 1. 1 1.51 Reclaimed 2. 6 19.05-3. Banuang Daan 21.3-4. Bulalacao 469.43 Pristine 5. Cabugao 197.36 Pristine 6. Malawig 335.20 Pristine 7. Marcilla 61.08 Pristine Total 1,104.93 a With data on dense seagrass from the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff (2006b) and concurred during the FGD b Perceived condition of seagrass beds as revealed in the FGD. It has four categories: Pristine, Disturbed, Altered, and Emergent (Fortes, 1989 as cited by Deguit et al., 2004). Please see Appendix 4-C for description of categories Number of HHIs = 152 Table 4.5 Uses of seagrass in selected coastal barangays of Coron, Palawan # Type of Use Bgy1 Bgy6 BDa Bul Cab Mal Mar 1. Fishing 2. Gleaning Legend: 1 Natural 1 Causes 1 1 1 3. Habitat of fish Illegal and Destructive Fishing 4. Spawning ground of fish Pollution and Garbage Dumping Legend: Natural Causes Illegal and Destructive Fishing Pollution and Garbage Dumping Gleaning Anchorage Tourism-Related Gleaning Anchorage Tourism-Related Legend: Bgy1 1; Bgy6 6; BnD Banuang Daan; Bul Bulalacao Cab Cabugao; Mal Malawig; Mar Marcilla 1 With users from other barangays

STATUS OF COASTAL HABITATS: CORAL REEFS Table 4.6 Areal extent and perceived condition of coral reefs in selected in selected coastal barangays of Coron, Palawan # Selected coastal Areal Extent of Coral Reefs (ha) a Perceived Condition b 1. 1 - - 2. 6 4.83-3. Banuang Daan 102.19 Poor 4. Bulalacao 2,861.68 Good 5. Cabugao 1,137.36 Poor 6. Malawig 181.70 Fair 7. Marcilla 379.68 Fair Total 4,667.44 a With data from the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff (2006b) and concurred during the FGD b Perceived condition of coral reefs as revealed in the FGD. It has four categories: Excellent ( 76% cover), Good (51-75%), Fair (26-50%), and Poor ( 25%) from Deguit et al., 2004 Table 4.7 Uses of coral reef in selected coastal barangays of Coron, Palawan # Type of Use Bgy1 Bgy6 Legend: BDa Bul Cab Mal Mar 1. Diving Illegal and Destructive Fishing 1 2. Fishing 1 1 Pollution 1 and 1 Dumping 1 of Garbage 1 3. Protection from waves 4. Tourism Legend: Bgy1 1; Bgy6 6; BnD Banuang Daan; Bul Bulalacao Cab Cabugao; Mal Malawig; Mar Marcilla 1 With users from other barangays Number of HHIs = 152 Legend: Illegal and Destructive Fishing Pollution and Dumping of Garbage Natural Causes Natural Ca

STATUS OF COASTAL HABITATS: BEACHES # Selected Coastal Table 4.8 Approximate length and perceived condition of beach systems in selected coastal barangays of Coron, Palawan Length of Coastline (km) a Length of Beachline (km) a 1. 1 None 2. 6-3. Banuang Daan 3 Excellent 4. Bulalacao 5 Excellent 5. Cabugao - Excellent 6. Malawig 1 Excellent 7. Marcilla - Excellent Total Perceived Condition b a Excluding the islets b Fishers perceived condition of beach systems (Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor) Number of HHIs = 152 Table 4.9 Uses of beach in selected coastal barangays of Coron, Palawan Legend: # Type of Use Bgy Bgy BnD Bul Cab Mal Mar Pollution and Garbage Dumping 1 6 Natural Causes 1. Bathing Legend: Sand Quarrying 2. Jetty/Wharf Pollution and Garbage Dumping Stone and Pebble Gathering 3. Picnic area Natural Causes Beach Erosion Sand Quarrying Soil Erosion - Upland 4. Recreation 5. Seaweed farming 6. Tourism development Stone and Pebbl Beach Erosion Soil Erosion - U Legend: Bgy1 1; Bgy6 6; BnD Banuang Daan; Bul Bulalacao Cab Cabugao; Mal Malawig; Mar Marcilla

DESCRIPTION OF BOATS FISHERY RESOURCES: NUMBER OF FISHERS # Table 4.10 Number of fishers in selected coastal barangays of Coron, Palawan Selected Coastal 1. 1 4,073 2. 6 2,070 3. Banuang Daan 818 4. Bulalacao 2,818 5. Cabugao 1,831 6. Malawig 556 7. Marcilla 1,179 Total 13,345 Population a No. of Fishers b to Male % of Fishers Population b a 2010 Census of Population and Housing, NSO b Estimate is based on FGD and 2010 Census of Population and Housing, Male Category aged 18 years old and over; about 51.8% of Coron population in 2007 are male, of which 48.4% are aged 18 years old and over. Out of 78 boats recorded: 88.5% - Motorized 53.8% - Registered 69.2% - 3 GT Table 4.11 Categories of engine horse power used by fishers in selected Coastal barangays of Coron, Palawan # Engine Horse Power No. of Samples % Rank 1. 10 and Below 39 50 1 2. 11-20 21 27 2 3. Missing/No Information 18 23 - Total 78 100

MAJOR FISHING GEARS USED Table 4.12 Major fishing gears used in selected coastal barangays of Coron, Palawan # Type of Gear Bgy Bgy 1 6 BnD Bul Cab Mal Mar Total 1. Hook and line (Kawil) 6 2. Bottom set gillnet (Labat palubog) 6 3. Spear-gun (Pana) 2 4. Fish Corral (Baklad) 1 5. Driftnet (Lambat palutang) 1 Legend: Bgy1 1; Bgy6 6; BnD Banuang Daan; Bul Bulalacao Cab Cabugao; Mal Malawig; Mar Marcilla

DOMINANT SPECIES HARVESTED BY TOP 3 GEARS Table 4.13 Dominant species caught by top three fishing gears used in selected coastal barangays of Coron, Palawan Species Caught Fishing Gear Used Local Name Common Name Scientific Name 1. Hook and line Lapu-lapu Ulpot Kanuping Dugsu Bisugo 2. Bottom set gillnet Danggit Mulmol Salay-salay Samaral Kalapato 3. Spear-gun Samaral Danggit Kanuping Mulmol Tauban Habitat Legend:

SEASONALITY OF MAJOR FISHING GEARS Seasonality of Major Fishing Gears in Selected Coastal s of Coron, Palawan Spear-gun Marcilla Malawig Bottom set gillnet Hook & line Marcilla Malawig Cabugao Bulalacao Banuang Daan 6 1 Marcilla Malawig Cabugao Bulalacao Banuang Daan 6 1 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

FISHING GROUND CHARACTERISTICS Table 4.14 Fishing ground characteristics of major gears used in selected coastal barangays of Coron, Palawan # Type of Gear Water Depth (m) Bottom Characteristics 1. Hook and line 10-60 Mud, sand, rock, coral reef (live fish) 2. Bottom set gillnet 5-40 Mud, sand, near rocky bottom, 3. Spear-gun 5-15 Coral reef, rock

TREND IN FISH CATCH

PERCEIVED CHANGES IN MARINE RESOURCES Table 4.15 Perceived changes in marine resources in selected coastal barangays of Coron, Palawan Number of s, n = 7 # Changes in Marine Resources Better in Better in 2012 2009-2011 No Change 1. Fish Size 5 1 2. Fish Abundance 5 1 3. Clams (Tridacna) Abundance 1 4 1 4. Sea Turtle Abundance 5 1 5. Grouper (Lapu-lapu) Abundance 6 6. Coral Abundance & Diversity 5 1

FISHERY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ISSUES Category of Issues Resource Use Resource Access Table 4.16 Summary of fishery-related resource management issues in selected coastal barangays of Coron, Palawan Mangrove Seagrass Corals Beach - Except for Banuang Daan, there is a continuing mangrove harvesting for household use and charcoal - Illegal and destructive fishing - Pollution and garbage dumping - Conversion of seagrass beds into other uses ( 1) - Illegal and destructive fishing methods such as the use of dynamite, sodium cyanide; Hulbot-hulbot and Muro-ami in Cabugao; Linteg in Marcilla - Incursion of commercial fishers such as Purse seine (Pangulong) in Marcilla, Danish seine (Hulbothulbot) in Malawig and Marcilla - Pollution and garbage dumping - Conversion of beach into other uses (Banuang Daan)

PROBLEMS IN FISHING Table 4.17 Summary of problems in fishing at selected coastal barangays of Coron, Palawan # Problems in Fishing Possible Causes Possible Solutions 1. Degraded/destroyed habitat, low and declining fish catch 2. Lack of financial capital to sustain fishing 3. Lack of supply of quality seaweed cultivars (Marcilla) - Use of of illegal and destructive fishing methods and gears such as sodium cyanide, and dynamite, among others - Income from fishing is not enough to finance for the next trip and/or improve fishing equipment - Seaweed cultivars from mature plants are susceptible to diseases resulting to low yield - Enforce the law, arrest violators and confiscate all illegal fishing paraphernalia - Government subsidy or lowinterest financing support from private institutions - Increase livelihood opportunities such as farming, livestock raising, mariculture, organizing an association or cooperative - Development of new technology such as seaweed tissue culture