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Abstract:
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"San Salvador, an island village of Masinloc municipality in Zambales, Philippines, has been inhabited by approximately three generations of residents. The initial migrants, who were largely farmers from the mainland of Zambales province, did not have a clear tradition of fisheries management and an indigenous expertise on fish stock management. Until the late 1960s, San Salvador residents recalled an abundance of coastal resources and a lack of resource use conflicts, which enabled fishers to enjoy an open and unrestricted access to the fishery. The scenario began to change in the 1970s due to three events: 1) influx of Visayan migrants from the Central Philippines, who belonged to a different ethnolinguistic group with different fishing practices; 2) integration of the village economy into the international market for aquarium fish; and, 3) shift to destructive fishing operations. Together, these event s progressively devastated San Salvador's fishing grounds. They also gave rise to conflicts over fishing gear and over productive fishing spots.
"In the late 1980s, the effects of fishery depletion and unabated destruction of coral reefs began to be felt. Open access to the resource, coupled with the rapid decline in fish stocks over the past decades, subjected the San Salvador fishery to further stress. The average fish catch per unit effort reportedly dwindled from 20 kilos per fishing trip in the 1960s to only about 1-3 kilos in 1988, just before the start of the Marine Conservation Project for San Salvador (MCPSS). Many reef fishes, such as groupers, snappers and damselfish, were depleted. A survey of the coral reef substrate in 1988 showed an average of 23 percent live coral cover for the whole island of San Salvador. The worsening resource situation was closely linked to unsound fishing practices, ignorance of fisherfolk on fish stock management, and the existence of unscrupulous leaders from the village, who sometimes supported destructive fishing methods for their own gain. The financial and regulatory limitations of the centralized Philippine government increasingly became apparent. Local fishers, however, felt helpless about the situation and were too fragmented to embark on any collective action to halt resource degradation. The Marine Conservation Project for San Salvador, which was implemented from 1989 to 1993 by a non-government organization, known as the Haribon Foundation, highlights how the fisher community and the local government jointly regenerated fishery resources through coral reef management The redefinition of property rights and rules in 1989, along with vigorous law enforcement activities, complemented resource management efforts. The San Salvador experience attests to how a community can rise above the obstacles associated with de facto open access nature of fisheries. It offers hope to many small island communities in a similar situation with an unwavering resolve to avert resource deterioration."
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