The Fisheries Management Area 4 Management Board extend its appreciation to the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources for organizing a consultation dialogue on September 28, 2022 in Zamboanga City, which gathered key stakeholders of the sardine industry including the issues and concerns surrounding the sardine industry including the issue on the alleged looming shortage of sardine supply for canning

After a thorough consideration of the recommendations that emanated from the said consultation dialogue, the Board has resolved to adopt the recommendations and pursue the necessary measures to ensure its implementation within a short-term and long-term period.

Among the major recommendations are as follows:

  • Ensure the continuous supply of sardines without compromising sustainability
  • Provide the municipal fisherfolk with the necessary government interventions including but not limited to post-harvest and logistics support, thereby giving them the opportunity to be part of the value chain and have the capacity to supply the needs of the canning industry based on the required volume and quality (supply agreement with the necessary consolidations scheme/strategies);
  • Pilot testing of the Big Brother Small Brother partnership in the municipality of Sibuco in Zamboanga Del Norte and possibly, include the neighboring municipalities in an effort to promote resource sharing by allowing small to medium commercial fishing vessels within the 10.1 to 15 kilometers of the municipal waters following the legal framework of the amended Fisheries Code;
  • Invest in value-adding (canning/processing) to generate jobs, reduce cost, and increase global competitiveness
  • Revisit the provisions of the fisheries code, particularly the 15-kilometer delineation of municipal waters;
  • The FMA 4 Management Board being at the forefront of fisheries governance in the FMA 4 is committed to ensuring sustainability of the sardine fishery within its management area while giving importance to wide stakeholders participation and promoting inclusive and equitable progress of the country’s sardine industry

    Supporting facts/information

    An FMA Management Board is a management body composed of key stakeholders from the industry, representatives from local government units, civil society organizations, the academe, and national government agencies created in line with the establishment of the country’s 12 FMA.

    The FMA 4, in which the waters of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, Sulu, Negros Occidental, Iloilo belong to, has a functional Management Board as well as a Scientific Advisory Group with the aim of safeguarding the region’s marine and coastal resources and the services they provide to the community

    TThe FMA 4 is one of the 12 FMAs established by virtue of Fisheries Administrative Order no. 263 s. 2019. It is a new governance framework on sustainable fisheries management anchored on the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM). Through the FMA, fisheries governance shifted from the traditional way of managing the country’s resources based only on political delineations towards a more holistic, science-based, and participatory management