Co-management in marine fisheries in Malalison Island, central Philippines

This study, conducted from November 1995 to February 1996, describes the evolution and impact of fisheries co-management arrangements in a coral reef fishing village at Malalison Island, central Philippines. The island is the site of a community-based fishery resources management project of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department, funded by the International Development Research Centre of Canada. Using a case study approach and inferential statistics in the analysis of data, the comanagement arrangements on the island are perceived to be successful based on equity, efficiency and sustainability criteria. Fishers, represented by the Fishermen's Association of Malalison Island (FAMI) who form the core group, participated actively in the management of fishery resources with legal and financial support both from the municipal and barangay (village) government. Potential problems nonetheless, still exist with the ambivalent attitude of fishers toward rule-breaking, especially of fishery rules directly affecting them. The future of co-management arrangements will largely depend on how the fishers and other stakeholders maintain and build earlier initiatives with the eventual phasing out of SEAFDEC AQD from the island. The rapid population growth could also affect project gains.