P h i l i P P i n e s n e w s l e t t e r

a P r i l 2 01 8

i n t h i s i s s u e

page

01Fishers and Markets

page

06Filipino fishers

bank on each other

page

15FishEye

page

11Guardian of the Sea

a p r i l 2 01 8

Fishers and MarketsBy YaSMIN aRQUIZa

BreadFruit is hardly known in the cities, but for the hardy fishers of Ayoke island in

Mindanao, it is their source of sustenance when they are cut off from the outside world during stormy weather. Known locally as kolo, it looks like the more well-known jackfruit or langka and makes for a hearty vegetable dish. The tree thrives in Ayoke, and the enterprising villagers have transformed its fruits into kolo chips with the brand name Island Pride.

“They developed the product themselves,” says Ma. Flora Monica Tejas-Belinario, Manager for Livelihood and Enterprise of Rare Philippines. The chips were displayed along with pouches of dried seafood, truly a source of pride for a remote coastal community striving to practice sustainable fisheries, during the recognition program for marketing partners last March 1.

Ayoke is part of Cantilan municipality in Surigao del Sur, one of the six local government partners of Rare in a project funded by the USAID through its Global Development Alliance portfolio called “Harnessing Markets to Secure a Future for Near Shore Fishers.” The initiative combines good practices in fisheries management with economic incentives, so that

fishers could move towards a more financially stable future for their families.

FroM the seato the tableLearning from previous livelihood approaches and fisheries science over the last 20 years, Rare has steered clear of the supply-driven approach and alternative sources of income that have resulted

Ayoke island in Cantilan, Surigao del Sur is one of the

project sites where fishers are enhancing their income

through value-added seafood and other products

Creating financial incentives to sustain coastal fisheries

Philippines

ayoke island

1

a p r i l 2 01 8

in low buy-in among target households. Instead, value chain studies are conducted and market opportunities are identified so that fishers can diversify and create more revenues for seafood products.

Fisheries stock assessment is seen as a critical step before any enterprise development, to determine which species are commercially viable and what measures need to be done to ensure that their populations are not depleted. Studies have shown that juvenile species are often caught before they have a chance to reproduce, so the business model for conservation enterprises include both financial and ecological sustainability goals. This means enhancing income opportunities while ensuring that fish stocks are maintained at healthy levels.

Community participation is anchored on responsible behavior under the sustainable coastal fisheries program called Fish Forever. These include the registration of fishers, boats, and gear; fishing in the right place with the right gear at the right time; attendance in meetings; and reporting of fish catch to reduce the incidence of illegal fishing practices.

At the government level,

Fishers and Markets

Mayor Valente Yap of Bindoy, Mayor Edsel Enardecido of Ayungon, and Mayor

Benjamin Tria of Looc share their experiences in supporting savings clubs and

conservation enterprises during the recognition program for partners last March 1

legislation is put in place to designate managed access areas for fishing, often around no-take marine sanctuaries. The policy is designed to mitigate the open access system that allows fishers to harvest marine life anywhere at any time, and put control measures in place.

Along the supply chain, research was done to improve fishery handling practices from

the sea to the table. Last October, Rare staff conducted interviews and market visits in Ayoke island and the town center of Cantilan among fishers, consumers, and traders focusing on the value of quality and food safety. Many of the questions revolved around fish buying preferences, location of vendors, and fish preparation practices. The exercise was meant to reduce catch and post-harvest

2

a p r i l 2 01 8Fishers and Markets

losses for fishers and vendors, and ensure food safety for consumers.

Results of the study were incorporated in the C3 campaign — for cool, clean, and care — that covers three aspects of Fishery Practice Improvement: cool ensures that the catch is kept at a temperature that will preserve its quality, clean refers to proper sanitation in order to reduce food contamination, and care is about proper handling of fish catch.

Last December 6, USAID and Rare launched the campaign in Negros Oriental as part of efforts to enhance the

Fishers in Lubang practice the C3 of fisheries practice improvement — cool, clean,

and care — to make sure consumers get premium seafood products.

Photo by Tom Epperson for Rare/FCI

livelihood of fishers in four adjoining municipalities — Bindoy, Ayungon, Tayasan, and Manjuyod — in Tañon Strait, one of the largest marine protected areas in the Philippines.

“We do not need to catch too many fish to earn a bigger income,” said Cristopher Lomboy, Rare Philippines Director for Markets and Enterprise, during the launching program. “If the consumer knows that the fish catch has been diligently cleaned, kept cool with ice, and cared for properly, then the fisher can get a higher price.”

200% increase in Market PricesSince the program started in 2016, six conservation enterprises have been organized, with more than 120 fisher-household members. Together, they have sold more than PhP500,000 worth of responsibly sourced seafood products to local and premium markets from May 2017 to January 2018. Market segmentation led to a 100% to 200% increase in prices for some species and product categories. Some groups, like the fishers from Ayoke, have ventured beyond seafood and developed other products such as the kolo chips. Rare staff helped them to organize local markets teams, register their enterprises, and forge linkages with local support services.

Last October 18 to 22, fisher-entrepreneurs from the municipalities of Looc and Lubang in Oriental Mindoro successfully sold all the dried seafood products they brought to the MIMAROPA Agri-Trade Fair held at SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City.

Rare facilitated the fishers’ participation in the trade fair so they could learn from other community enterprises on how to sell, promote, and explain their advocacy for sustainable

3

a p r i l 2 01 8Fishers and Markets

fisheries to a highly urbanized market. They explained to buyers that the fish are caught by registered small-scale fishers using licensed fishing gear and boats, and the products are processed in the fishing community using government-approved food safety procedures.

The fishers were able to sell 130 packs of dried rabbitfish and 60 packs of dried flying fish worth PhP19,000 to consumers. According to the vendors, 80 per cent of the customers bought the products because of their marketing pitch as responsibly sourced seafood, while the rest were attracted to the novelty of the dried fish products.

savings clubs suMMitWith many fishing households vulnerable to financial crises and shocks such as health emergencies and weather-related disasters, pulling them away from lucrative but illegal fishing practices can be a challenge. To help them build household assets, Rare utilized a turnkey solution — Village Savings & Loan Associations — and linked it to responsible fishing behavior. The concept builds on social capital, the strongest asset of

Adding value to the harvest from the

sea through fish processing gives

coastal communities higher income

and reduces fishing pressure in

municipal waters.

Photo by Tom Epperson for Rare/FCI

fishing communities, so that savings clubs could thrive on neighborhood support. Together, they have mobilized more than PhP14.5 million in savings over 22 months. (Read related story on page 06)

The first Fish Forever Savings Club and Livelihood Summit was conducted last September 21-22, 2017 in the municipalities of Looc and Lubang, Occidental Mindoro. Hundreds of savings club members from almost 20 groups gathered to celebrate their success and share ideas on how they could further improve their operations. The activity included lectures on how to apply for Social Security System (SSS) membership, and how to start a business using guidelines from the Department of Trade and Industry. Health and nutrition, along with preparation of healthy meals for their families, were also discussed by University of the Philippine Los Baños- Barangay Integrated Development Approach for Nutrition Improvement staff and municipal health officers.

less overFishing, More biodiversityAs a major component of the strategy to sustain coastal fisheries, the markets initiative has

made modest strides in achieving the overall goals to reduce the threat of overfishing and improve biodiversity. The importance of linking livelihoods interventions to sustainable fishing behaviors was done through partnerships with national government agencies, local government units, donors, academe, private sector and other NGOs.

There is still much to be done, as gleaned from the lessons learned from the project.

4

a p r i l 2 01 8Fishers and Markets

On the supply side, fishers were found to be losing up to 30 per cent of potential income due to poor post-harvest practices and lack of inputs like ice and proper storage facilities, so additional investment in business assets is needed. The impact of climate change on the seasonality of fish products, affecting steady supply for buyers, also needs to be addressed through a bigger network of sites. Community partners need more capacity building to run viable businesses,

Ma. Flora Monica tejas-belinario

and hazel ann aviso from the

rare Philippines markets team

contributed to the reporting of this

story.

the Province oF cebu is known for its profitable community enterprises run by cooperatives. Local government partners and fishing entrepreneurs from the municipalities of Looc, Lubang, Ayungon, Bindoy, Cantilan, and Cortes gained exposure to some of these business ventures during a weeklong study tour last September 25-29, in partnership with Rare.

Fishers tour successful community enterprisesin cebu

Their first destination was the Municipality of Pinamungahan, where the Lamac Cooperative runs a multi-million business enterprise ranging from tourist resorts, a lending institution, grocery stores, dormitories, cacao nursery, and various farm products.

Next, they visited the Municipality of Aloguinsan that has given strong support for the Bojo River ecotourism project,

— reported by riza devie

Mendez, rare Philippines

markets team

while local governments can do more to integrate fisheries in economic development strategies. Savings clubs members, many of whom are also members of conservation enterprises, can mobilize for collective action in reducing the costs of fish production, small catch consolidation, and improving their negotiating power in the market.

On the markets side, community enterprises need to diversify products and markets to become more competitive. Opportunities

to connect terrestrial and marine value chains could be explored to spread the benefits from market linkages. Reduction of transport costs, education of consumers about responsibly sourced fish, and quality certifications would also increase revenues from controlled fish harvests.

an international awardee for its well-managed community enterprise run mainly by women. Traditional cuisine and a mangrove river tour are the highlights of the project, which also features insights from community members about their experiences.

The study tour ended with a business planning workshop, where the lessons and good practices learned from Cebu’s community enterprises were incorporated in the fishery projects of Rare’s partners.

5

a p r i l 2 01 8

BeFore the first savings club started in her hometown of Ayoke Island, 36-year-old Analou

Lumapguid had two options for saving: she could either store spare cash in a piggy bank that she would break open for emergencies, or she could make the rare trip across the water to a bank in mainland Cantilan, where she and her husband have a savings account. “I haven’t visited in a year,” says Analou of the trouble. As in many of the Philippines’ small and remote fishing villages, there are no banks on Ayoke Island.

Analou’s options changed in March of 2016, when Rare and local partners began introducing savings clubs to help people in coastal communities of the Philippines save smarter, and thrive from productive use of their savings. The clubs are part of a Global Development Alliance project, receiving support from

USAID. In each club, members gather weekly to contribute to group savings, take out loans, and pay them off.

Ayoke Island was the first to adopt a savings club, which Analou led as chairperson. The island started with 30 club members, which eventually

grew to two-thirds of the total population. Now, more than 70 savings clubs exist in communities of nine of the country’s coastal provinces, including Occidental Mindoro, Negros Oriental, and Surigao del Sur.

Members like Analou are finding that the savings clubs enable them to dream bigger, and turn the extra funds they make today into something more later on — be it a sturdy house, a good education for their children, or a profitable small business of their own.

Analou Lumapguid presides over a savings clubs meeting in Ayoke island.

Almost 80 per cent of savings club members are women, who are responsible for

budgeting in most fishing families. Photo by Jaime Rapi, Jr. for Rare/FCI

to save for the future, Filipino fishers bankon each otherBy S.e. IRBY

6

a p r i l 2 01 8

the road to Financial literacy For the Philippines’ coastal communities, the journey to better saving begins with an immediate uphill climb, as it’s a setting in which reliable income, formal financial institutions, and access to tools for financial literacy have been noticeably absent.

In small fishing communities like Ayoke Island, the source of extra, potentially bankable income for many people comes from the sea, in an influx of good catch. When that catch and other opportunities put extra cash in the hands of coastal villagers, the common response is celebration. Usually, fishers will spend the money on things of the ephemeral kind — personal consumer goods providing instant gratification. “In the past, saving money was never a priority,” says Analou.

The same was the personal case for 51-year-old Pervelinda Castelo of Lubang, a community in Mindoro Occidental. She sells dried fish at the Lubang pier and works with her husband as caretaker for a landowner. “We never saved anything in the past, because we spent our money at once,” says Pervelinda. “Our

eldest child was not able to go to college because we did not have savings. If we had savings, we could have used it to start a business, like selling ice cream in the summer.”

Often missing in these communities is foresight into how money can be saved to protect a household in times of disaster, sickness and other big financial curveballs, or to fund costly dreams like a college

education. The existing attitude is a big part of the cycle of poverty in which many are stuck, but it’s understandable in their reality.

In most of the Philippines’ small and often very remote coastal villages, there are no banks in town, and existing financial institutions in bigger cities may find local fishers less “bankable.” Living off the bounty of the sea, it’s difficult for fishers to know how much income they’ll earn at any given time, or when that money will

end up in their possession. Catch is unpredictable and unreliable, affected by factors like weather events and how communities treat their own fisheries and marine ecosystems. Even once fishers bring their catch ashore, they watch traders dictate the prices of the fish.

When money is scarce from the start and with few options for convenient saving, pivoting to plan one’s financial future isn’t

easy. Some people in small communities have yet to experience the satisfaction of seeing a large sum stacked away and growing.

Rare is introducing savings clubs to make the concepts more accessible, and

empower groups to increase their financial literacy and self-reliance together. “Low-income households need access to financial services to help diversify their income sources through small income-generating activities,” says Cris Lomboy, Rare’s Director of Markets and Enterprise in the Philippines. “Here lies the value of a savings club, as a bridge for low-income coastal communities to improve their financial literacy and be more attractive to financial institutions.”

to save for the future, Filipino fishers bank on each other

“In most of the Philippines’small and often very remote

coastal villages, there areno banks in town, and existing financial institutions in bigger

cities may find local fishers less “bankable.”

7

a p r i l 2 01 8

selF-Managed and disciPlinedThere are a few basic elements of structure, function and principle that keep the savings clubs running smoothly. The clubs have a minimum of 10 members and reach up to over 35 members, and meet on a weekly basis. Members can buy shares during each meeting. They can max out at 5 shares, valued at around 20 to 50 Philippine pesos per share, though that value depends on a number that each club decides. In some of the more mature groups, the share value has increased to between 50 and 100 pesos.

There are two kinds of savings pooled in the clubs: one is a savings fund and one is a social fund. Members contribute to the savings fund and take out loans on an individual basis, while the social fund is a group fund used for health and other emergencies.

Key to their growth is the fact that the savings clubs are self-managed, with Rare only helping during the first two meetings, checking in on the fourth, and assisting with loan logistics. This allows for easier and faster replication of the clubs, says Cris. “We have basic training for the members of the savings clubs,” he says. “We provide assets like calculators, passbooks, materials

to run the savings clubs, but more and more, the savings clubs are totally self-run and organizing other savings clubs. Members invite other people to the savings clubs, and those people start their own.”

There’s discipline to the group setting: each member has a unique number in the group and is seated according to that number during the meeting. Each club maintains a passbook for every member to track what they are saving, and enable illiterate or low literacy members to track their own savings by using stamps instead of writing down numbers (the stamp is shaped as a fish; a member can simply count

the number of fish to know how many shares he or she has in the group). The group also divides up protection of the funds: money is stored in a metal cash box with three padlocks, with each of the three keys kept by a different member of the group, and a fourth holding the box.

The group dynamic is motivating, says Cris, who describes a “peer pressure” effect to meetings. Members can elect not to buy any shares for a week, but they feel more motivated to come up with money to put in their savings when they see how others have saved and done well. As members are often close neighbors, friends and family,

to save for the future, Filipino fishers bank on each other

In 2015, Rare introduced savings clubs to improve economic resilience in fishing

communities, where financial institutions are scarce. There are now 102 clubs in

15 municipalities across the country. Photo by Tom Epperson for Rare/FCI

8

a p r i l 2 01 8to save for the future, Filipino fishers bank on each other

they’re not shy about nudging one another to add to the savings fund. “Every day, my neighbor reminds me about my obligation to save money,” says Analou. “So it’s a good system.”

The clubs work in cycles, and at the end of each cycle, the interest earned from the loan income is divided among members based on their shares. On average, they’re earning about 2 to 3 percent interest, which is far better than banks can provide, says Cris (only half a per cent per annum). “During our second share-out, I received 24,000 pesos after 35 weeks, on savings of 500 per week,” recalls Analou. She remembers seeing a man excitedly collect 9,000 pesos after her club’s first share-out. “It was the first time he had ever held that amount of money in his hands, because in the past, all the family’s money would be spent in just one day or a few days,” she says. “He finally managed to convince his wife, who was hesitant at first, to join the savings club.”

The clubs offer women and men an equal chance to be involved in leadership of a community organization. At first, men

wanted to run the clubs in many of the sites, says Cris, but as the clubs grew and progressed, women began to dominate club membership and took up many of the leadership roles.

Nearly 80 percent of the clubs’ total members are women, and women outnumber men in every community where the clubs are in place. Analou says it may

be in part because the men are out fishing most of the day, and are seldom in the village. Their drive likely comes from their closeness to the daily needs of the household, and the sense of financial pressure brought on by feeding and keeping their kids in school, dealing with health issues, and fixing problems around the house. “The women are the ones responsible for managing the household budget, and the men give their income to their wives,” says Analou.

More than P6 Million in savingsWith 1,747 members and growing, the clubs have saved a total of more than 6 million Philippine pesos from deposits made to the groups’ funds. Members have used the funds for education, healthcare, and small business.

The share-outs have ignited an industrious spark in members as

well. Cris says people have told him that they can see members working harder and coming up with more ways to earn — and then save — money, signaled by smoke going up in houses as people engage in more food businesses, like selling hot dogs and skewered

pork.Analou has noticed the same on

Ayoke Island, particularly among women. “Women are becoming more productive — they offer nail manicure services or cook food or engage in various enterprises, so they can save money,” she says. “Even the fishermen, they work harder and save their income instead of spending their money on liquor. The joke here is that they will only drink if someone else pays, because they want to put their money in savings clubs.”

Savings clubs offer women and men an equal

chance to be involved in the leadership of a

community organization

9

a p r i l 2 01 8to save for the future, Filipino fishers bank on each other

Pervelinda wants to use the money for her piggery, to pay for the feeds. She learned to put away more and more money for such use over time. “We have had three cycles of share-outs,” she says. “In the first one, I got 9,000 pesos because I only saved 250 pesos a week. In the second and third share-out, I got more than 18,000 pesos each because I doubled my savings. The amount I get really encourages me to save more, so I can plan my investments.”

With each cycle, club members like Pervelinda are able to look forward to the future, and membership is growing quickly. “Many people are thankful that the savings clubs are helping us, and we know this will continue for a long time,” says Pervelinda. “Ours was the first one in Lubang, and now we have five savings clubs in town.”

The clubs also continue to evolve. Since May of 2017, members have organized business groups that connect their communities and fishers’ catch to companies marketing sustainable seafood in urban areas. The groups they’ve formed are called “conservation enterprises,” because they use their savings to fund business driven by sustainable fishing practices. They’re currently focusing on processed dried fish sold directly to market. Partnering with Rare, a company called Fishers and Changemakers, Inc. has started selling dried fish and squid from the conservation enterprises.

With concepts like the conservation enterprises, Rare aims to get a better sense of how savings clubs and their benefits can further help fishers. In the Philippines, Rare is working with coastal communities to change the social, economic

and ecological conditions in which their people live and work, through adoption of sustainable, community-based fisheries management. The organization’s efforts span community engagement, systematic policy and legislative reform, and sustainable finance.

Cris says that the savings clubs should ultimately serve as stepping stones for people to access — and develop the motivation to use — formal financial institutions.

As their savings grow to unprecedented levels, the clubs may soon need to use the resources of such institutions. “Their savings are really growing, so the risk is increasing,” says Cris. But a stacked cash box is a good problem to have. As the clubs’ savings and social funds boost income diversification and household resilience, members are starting to make big plans. “I had always wanted to save money in the past, but I did not see any results,” says Analou. “Now, it has become more concrete, and we’re using our savings for the construction of our house.”

rare Philippines senior

communications Manager yasmin

arquiza contributed to the

reporting of this story.

More than PhP6 million has been

generated from deposits made to

savings clubs. Members have used the

funds for education, healthcare, and

small businesses. Photo by Jaime Rapi,

Jr. for Rare/FCI

10

ProFiles:Rare

conservation fellows

a p r i l 2 01 8

For Gina Barquilla, a tough day at the office could mean an ugly face-off with an illegal fisher or mangrove

cutter. They’re an inevitable occupational hazard: Gina is the environment and natural resources officer for the municipal government of Del Carmen in Siargao, Surigao del Norte. She’s also a deputized fish warden with “Bantay Dagat,” the local fishery

enforcement team, and in the past two years, their efforts to crack down on illegal operations have earned them death threats, harassment, and even gunfire on their homes. When Gina once confiscated a judge’s illegal mangrove timber, he punched her.

She’s taken the hits because her work is too important to give up, for both marine life and local livelihoods. Gina works to protect Del Carmen’s 44,000

hectares of municipal waters, which are abundant in coral reefs, seagrass beds, and more than 5,000 hectares of mangrove forest. Unsustainable fishing and illegal activities have been persistent problems affecting these ecosystems. Fishers have overfished and used destructive methods to extract resources, perpetuating the fishery’s decline in the process. Illegal operations are particularly problematic in two of Del Carmen’s most important areas, the San Fernando and Caub marine sanctuaries. The bountiful sanctuaries shelter rich pockets of rebounding fish populations,

At the Fish Forever

summit in June last

year, Gina narrated the

journey of Del Carmen

in keeping illegal fishers

out of their municipal

waters

guardian of the seaBy SUZaNNe HODgeS

11

a p r i l 2 01 8Profiles: Rare fellow Gina Barquilla

making them irresistible to those who aim to take what they shouldn’t, in ways they shouldn’t.

Whatever affects the fishery affects many of the families in Del Carmen. Fishing is a core source of income and food for its population, with about 1,900 fishing households living in a community of just under 20,000 people. In 2015, the Del Carmen municipal government sought to improve the community’s use and management of its coastal waters, to ensure that its people could depend on their resources well into the future. Mayor Alfredo Coro II chose Gina, one of his staffers, to lead a Rare Pride campaign utilizing community behavior change to inspire the adoption of sustainable solutions. Since then, Gina has worked tirelessly to rally the community to reconnect with the ocean and defend it.

MoyMoy, the ParrotFish MascotWhen Gina began her Pride campaign, she had to be ready for the hard road ahead. The campaign and its goal of sustainable fishing rested in large part on community engagement and enforcement — inspiring members of the community to see, think, and act

differently to protect the fishery. That meant helping fishers see the value of sanctuaries, even as their catch waned. It meant stemming participation in illegal fishing, even though it was the norm. And it meant fostering a vigilant community of fishers, even if it involved reporting people they knew for noncompliant behavior.

Gina’s community engagement efforts included social marketing tools like billboards, a campaign jingle and an ocean animal mascot. The mascot was Moymoy, depicting the rare, bright turquoise and orange Bower’s parrotfish in community events. Printed across the campaign billboards were lines like “Dali ug Tambong sa mga Miting. Pangutana, Maminaw ug Apil sa Solusyon.” (“Let’s attend meetings, ask questions, listen, and join the search for solutions.”)

With these tools, the campaign embedded its conservation message — to appreciate and protect Del Carmen’s dwindling marine resources — throughout the community. Gina and her team also hosted workshops to increase communication on fishing and its issues between local people and government.

The workshops allowed fishers to air their concerns about fishery

misuse and livelihood obstacles, like a lack of job benefits. During these community events, fishers also learned about a fisheries management solution called Managed Access Areas + Sanctuaries, in which territorial user rights for fishers (or TURF) work with no-take marine sanctuaries to promote both sustainable use and conservation. The system grants local fishers priority access, rather than leaving waters open to competition from fishers near and far. In turn, local fishers heed the rules of the reserves with which fishery managed access areas are paired. The concept is meant to motivate fishers to better protect their waters, so they can reap the eventual spillover benefits of reserves.

In Del Carmen, Gina’s campaign built local buy-in for the approach and worked with the community to design and legally establish the solution per their needs. With the sustainable fisheries solution on the horizon, protecting marine sanctuaries and putting an end to destructive fishing behavior was more important than ever. A year into her campaign, Gina joined Bantay Dagat, or “Guardians of the Sea,” to make additional progress on one of her core goals: increasing her and her

12

Getting thrown overboard has not

deterred Gina from joining patrols at

sea. Photo courtesy of Japy Toledo

Silapan

a p r i l 2 01 8Profiles: Rare fellow Gina Barquilla

community’s participation in fishery law enforcement.

100 cases and counting Gina was deputized as a fish warden with the team in 2016, for which she had to become well-versed in comprehensive fisheries ordinances and proper procedures for arresting violators, she says. Bantay Dagat works with maritime police to apprehend and penalize illegal fishers and mangrove cutters. They look out for sanctuary intrusion and illegal methods like fine mesh nets, poison and dynamite, as well as illegal mangrove logging. Gina says that fish spillover from the sanctuaries are particular targets for illegal fishers. “Using dynamite, it’s very easy for them to get a school of fish, especially during the new moon, when the fish are near the surface.”

Gina’s involvement in Bantay Dagat became a useful tool for increasing community involvement in enforcement. The team is made up of volunteers, and after becoming a fish warden, Gina worked hard to recruit more local people to join Bantay Dagat, which now has 25 members. She continues to recruit volunteers, and encourages fishers and other people in the community to report

violations they see to the team.The work local volunteers have

put into enforcement has resulted in more than 200 apprehensions of illegal operations in the past three years. “We only managed to catch violators when Rare came in, because we started to focus on fishing behavior,” says Gina. “Most of the recent illegal fishing methods are triple nets, fine-

and mangrove cutting violations from happening in the first place, so she began a dialogue with illegal fishers themselves. “We told them that they might be catching a huge volume of fish, but they were also destroying corals that take many years to restore,” she says. “We employed a bit of scare tactics too.” Gina and her team would demonstrate to fishers how their behavior could wipe out fish stocks on which their children and grandchildren would rely.

shiFt in Fishing behaviorOver the course of her three-year campaign, Gina noticed a significant shift in illegal fishing behavior. “In time, fishers realized that some of the things they were doing was destructive, and they should be protecting the fishing grounds because it is the source of their livelihood,” says Gina. “In the three years that we have implemented the program, both legal and illegal fishers have understood why there are arrests.”

One such convert is a 27-year-old former dynamite fisher, Henry Sammy Jarel, who was once arrested by Bantay Dagat. “He has become our most trusted Bantay Dagat member,” says Gina. After

meshed nets, and Danish seine. We have filed more than 100 cases since 2014, and the judge has become familiar with my face because I keep going to court.”

While Gina worked to make fishers more accountable for illegal actions, her campaign aimed to take a step beyond increased reporting and legal action toward isolated incidents. She wanted to stop the fishing

13

a p r i l 2 01 8Profiles: Rare fellow Gina Barquilla

rare Philippines senior

communications Manager yasmin

arquiza contributed to the

reporting of this story.

As Rare conservation fellow, Gina

inspires local residents to take pride

in their unique marine resources,

including the largest mangrove forest

in Mindanao. Photo courtesy of Japy

Toledo Silapan

Henry was arrested, he began to learn more about the impact of his demolition on the fishery’s longevity. Bombs that wiped out large schools of fish accelerated its degradation. Henry now helps Bantay Dagat stop the practice he once used, and has joined the team on successful confidential missions.

Gina says Henry is always there when she needs him and makes team patrols his priority, even if it means he can’t hold onto the hefty sums of cash he used to get as an illegal fisher. “He says that he could easily buy rice and have expensive dishes like adobo when he was still engaged in illegal fishing, and now, he has less money for food,” says Gina. “He’s convinced it’s for the better, though.”

Since Gina began her campaign in 2015, the waters of Del Carmen have become a different place to fish. Ideas of safety, accountability, and longevity have worked their way into the collective perspective toward marine resource use. Once rampant, mangrove cutting has stopped nearly altogether, says Gina. And the community has expressed its support for the Managed Access Areas + Sanctuaries solution, designing and passing its own into law.

Last year, Gina and fellow Pride campaign managers in other coastal communities throughout the Philippines celebrated the completion of their three-year campaigns with Rare. Next steps will involve working with the community to implement and give functionality to the sustainable fisheries solution they’ve legally adopted.

Still, there are times when Gina remains hard at work fighting the lingering pull that illegal fishing has for some of its people. She remembers one of her most difficult days on the job: September 19, 2017, just a few weeks after her graduation from Pride. At 11:00 p.m. Gina and several other Bantay Dagat headed out ahead of the maritime police to confront a man who had been identified by other fishers as an illegal fisher. When they approached his boat, the fisher rammed into their vessel and the entire team was thrown overboard. He took off and they were left treading water without life vests, waiting for the maritime police boat to catch the target first (per official protocol), then circle back for them. Thinking the trip would be quick enough, Gina hadn’t eaten dinner that day, and she was starting to feel weak enough to drown in the open

water. The team was lucky, she says, because the sea was calm at the time. “Thankfully, everyone survived,” says Gina. “The maritime police boat went back and saved all of us.”

Even on days like September 19, when Gina has reason to feel adrift, she remains hopeful about achieving sustainable fishing. The people of Del Carmen have shown her their capacity for change, and her work with Rare has given her the tools and lessons to keep it up. “The approach of Rare’s fisheries program is different,” she says. “We may not be able to stop all illegal activities, but at least we are able to minimize them.”

14

a p r i l 2 01 8rare photo gallery

01 Starting them young, Floramil

Bruzon brings her baby to the wet

market where she sells the freshest

catch to local consumers. Photo by

Jaime Rapi Jr. for Rare/FCI 02 Fishing

is a family affair in Lubang island, with

couples sharing daily chores such as

bringing in the fish catch from the boat.

Photo by Tom Epperson for Rare/FCI

01

02

FisheyePortrait of the Filipino as a Responsible Fisher

as day breaks, fishing boats head for shore and the fishers haul in their catch from another night at sea. Buyers line the beach, waiting for the freshest seafood to sell at the market and bring home for a family meal. It’s a familiar scene in coastal villages across the Philippine archipelago, and communities that follow proper fishing methods are reaping the rewards for their efforts to sustain the bounty of the sea.

The images featured in this gallery are part of a photo exhibit organized by Rare and Fishers & Changemakers Inc. that feature the daily cycle of fishers and their families in the islands of Lubang in Occidental Mindoro and Ayoke in Surigao del Sur. Fishers are working with their local governments and partner organizations to protect marine sanctuaries, manage designated fishing zones, and

improve their income through linkages with outside markets that buy their products at premium prices. These economic incentives enable fishers to support conservation measures that ensure long-term viability for near-shore fisheries while preserving marine biodiversity.

15

a p r i l 2 01 8rare photo gallery

03 Leisurely ride on a sunlit afternoon in Ayoke Island, Cantilan municipality in Surigao del Sur, where Rare and USAID are

linking fishers’ conservation enterprises to premium markets. Photo by Jaime Rapi Jr. for Rare/FCI 04 Many women in Lubang

island, Occidental Mindoro are engaged in community livelihood projects such as dried fish processing, with support from Rare

and USAID 05 After cleaning and drying, seafood from Lubang island in Occidental Mindoro are sold in premium markets in

urban areas, fetching higher income for coastal fishers. Photos by Tom Epperson for Rare/FCI

03

04 05

FisheyePortrait of the Filipino as a Responsible Fisher

16