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Profile of Green Mussel Farmers in Samar, Philippines

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 Journal of Academic Research 03:1(2018), pp. 11-19

Profile of Green Mussel Farmers in

Samar Philippines
Emilio H. Cebu
Samar State University
Emilio.cebu@ssu.edu.ph

Abstract: The paper presents the green mussel industry of Samar Philippines from 2004 to 2014.
Data gathered through face to face survey to 1,043 households engaged in green mussel farming,
post-production and selling. Results have shown that the age of farmers is positively skewed with
a mean age of 47.02 and σ of 8.83 years. More than half of the farmers are found in Villareal
(58.10%); Maqueda and Cambatutay have 32.9% and 9.01% share of farmers respectively.
Farmers' educational attainment is the secondary level where 32.3%, 26.1% and 6.2% elementary,
secondary and college graduate. Frequency distribution in terms of farming experience is
negatively skewed with a mean of 11.73 and σ of 8.47 years. About 1/3 of farmers attended
training and other forms of a capacity building about green mussel farming and management
while the rest don't have. About 86.96% are members of community organizations that were
organized or recognized by the Department of Labor and Employment and Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources Management Council (FARMC). Despite the negative reports about the staking
method, the number of farmers using it has almost tripled, wigwam farmers reduced by almost
half. There were fewer farmers who used bamboo tray module method. Green mussel farmers are
getting older with the fewer younger individual taking over the industry. There is a need to
promote the industry to encourage new green mussel farmers and adopt newer methods that are
more environments friendly.

Keywords: tahong industry, aquaculture, mariculture, technology adoption

1. Introduction wigwam in Villareal and Laguimit bays

Samar is a major producer of green
mussel supplying many markets in the
Philippines. The marine resource is believed
to have been introduced in Maqueda bay
through fuel tankers from Manila bay
supplying fuel stocks at the depot in
Barangay Jia-an, Jiabong, Samar (FAO, nd).
The marine organism was originally
considered as a biofouler which affected
other marine organisms like oysters (ibid). It
was when the economic potential of green
mussel was identified that the Philippine
government established experimental farms.
On 1980, this government facility
was expanded to other areas showcasing the
(Villareal, Samar) and the staking in
Cambatutay Bay (Tarangnan, Samar). The
established technology demonstration farms
were coupled with mussel breeders, which
paved the way for the wide dispersion of
mussel larvae. Consequently, the
abovementioned sites became an essential
mussel-belts and mussel fishery has
developed into a significant industry (Cebu,
2016). The mussel industry has helped in
alleviating the socioeconomic conditions of
fisherfolks along mussel-belts. Records
from the the Bureau of Fisheries and
Aquatic Resources (BFAR) – Samar Field
Office shows that green mussel production
peaked to about 109,471 metric tons in
2005.
JOURNAL OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH
The industry supplied fresh green
mussel to Metro Manila and Luzon, Visayas
and Mindanao provinces and cities while
some Local Government Units were
generating income from the
shipping/transport permits of green mussels,
Perna viridis (Cebu, 2016). The industry in
Samar has supplied markets in Manila,
Cebu, Davao and other places in between
(ibid). Mussel farming became the source of
livelihood for some 651 households along
mussel-belts. In 2006, the mussel industry
produced more than ten thousand metric
tons of mussels valued at PhP43.2 million
(BFAR, 2006). This commodity was
subsequently identified by the Department
of Trade of Trade and Industry – Region 8
as the OTOP for the Province of Samar due
to the major employment it has generated
(NSCB, 2006).
It was in 2006 when the decline
reached 90.3% due to a variety of factors
such as sediment accumulation, poor water
circulation, and carrying capacity of the
area. All these factors can be associated to
uncontrolled farming practices including
choice of farming methodologies (Cebu and
Orale, 2018), human activities solid and
wastewater disposal in the area (Cebu &
Orale, 2017; Nobles & Zhang, 2015) and
natural phenomena like climate change
(Wang et al., 2018). This means that farming
needs to be controlled and those who does
needs to be fully equipped technically to
ensure industry sustainability.
Survival of an industry requires men,
money, material and machinery and the
effective combination of those factors
(Shanmukhappa, 2016). An industry’s long
term advantage lies in its human resources
(ibid). The survival of the green mussel
industry in Samar depend so much in the
availability of people who will undertake the
much-needed enhancement to maximize the
Cebu (2018)
Vol. 03 No. 1
benefit for the community. Samar is still
among the poorest in the country and the
green mussel industry can be a source of
good revenue for the farmers, their families
and for the local government.
2. Objectives
The study aims to document the
human resource profile of the green mussel
industry of Samar, specifically it will;
2.1 Determine the profile of the mussel
farmers in terms of its age, educational
level, household size, sources of
income, years of experience in
farming, attendance to capacity
building activities and membership in
community organizations.
2.2 Determine the green mussel farming
practices in Samar, and
2.3 Determine the level of awareness of the
mussel farmer respondents on policies,
and technologies used in the industry?
3. Methodology
The paper used mixed methods in
presenting the profile of green mussel
farmers in Samar, Philippines.
3.1 Instrument and Validation.
The profiling of participants made
use of a pre-structured survey questionnaire.
The questionnaire was tested in a
community in Gandara Samar, it was also
subjected to experts validation among the
concerned Municipal Agriculturist in Samar.
3.2 Participants Sampling
With the absence of a master list of mussel
farmers from all offices, the researcher
12
JOURNAL OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH
performed a snowball strategy to gather as
many respondents as possible who are into
green mussel farming. The Agricultural
Technologists (ATs) of the Local
Government Units (LGUs) and Barangay
Leaders/Officials were the initial informants
of who are green mussel farmers.
3.3 Data Gathering Procedure
The profiles of the green mussel
industry farmers were obtained through
face-to-face interviews from 69 coastal
barangays distributed to 11 municipalities
and one city covered by this study. Focus
group discussions were also conducted in
strategic venues to validate the result of the
survey.
3.3 Data Gathering Procedure
Data were presented in tables, line
and bar graphs and histograms. The mean
and standard deviation was calculated, and
the degree of skewness was also determined.
4. Results and Discussion
4.1 Respondent Population
There are a total of 1,043 households
(HH) who take part in the survey. Of the 12
municipalities considered, Villareal, Samar
registered the highest number of green
mussel farmers outranking the more famous
to green mussel producer Jiabong, Samar.
Villareal has a total of 288 HH or 27.6%
while Jiabong has 19.56% HH engaged in
mussel farming. Villareal, Samar has HH
population is approximately 288 while
Jiabong, Samar has 204. This means that for
every 20 HH, there is one green mussel
farmer in Villareal, Samar or 1:20 on the
other hand, Jiabong, Samar has a 1:18 ratio.
Cebu (2018)
Vol. 03 No. 1
Figure 1. Number of Households (HH) into
Green Mussel Farming
The household population shown in
Figure 1 have their farms found in the three
bays of Samar, namely Cambatutay Bay,
Maqueda Bay, and Villareal Bay. Of these
1,043 HH farmers, 58.10% (who come from
Calbiga, Pinabacdao, Villareal, Talalora,
Daram, and Zumarraga, Samar) has their
farms in Villareal Bay, 32.89% (Catbalogan,
Jiabong, and San Sebastian, Samar) in
Maqueda Bay and the remaining 9.01%
(Tarangnan) are in Cambatutay Bay. The top
two municipalities regarding the number of
farmers may be attributed to the fact that
these were the areas where demonstration
farms were established which encouraged
adoption by the local population. The
demonstration farms were coupled with
mussel breeders which propagated and
dispersed to adjacent towns. The relatively
newer sites were a result of their inclusion as
testing sites for the bamboo-tray module
farming method.
4.2 Age Profile of Respondents
Shown in Figure 2 is the frequency
distribution of farmer's respondent from
three bays of Samar. The pooled data
showed that the population characteristics
from Cambatutay Bay is relatively younger
13
JOURNAL OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH
Table 1. Differences of Age Means Between Bays
Bays Mean Age σ
Cambatutay 43.97 9.98
Maqueda 47.57 8.05
Villareal 47.18 8.99
*significant
than the other bays (see table 1).
Cambatutay Bay is the youngest in terms of
green mussel farming history. Villareal and
Maqueda Bay farmers have almost the same
farmer distributions. The average age of
farmers on all the bays is 47.02 with σ of
8.83 years; the youngest farmer is aged 22
while the oldest is 69 years old. The
skewness of the distribution is -0.147 which
suggesting that green mussel age are older.
Participants to FGD shared that green
mussel farming is not a preferred occupation
of the youth. The household respondents
express that their children desire of different
type of livelihood in the future. Some of the
farmers also share the same sentiment, as
much as possible if there are other forms of
subsistence, they would prefer it for their
children. This sentiment perhaps is
influenced by the mass mortality of green
mussel which they have experienced.
Figure 2. Age Distribution of Green Mussel
Farmers in Samar (2014)
Cebu (2018)
Vol. 03 No. 1
P value (Z between means, 2-tailed)
Maqueda Villareal Samar**
0.0013* 0.0033* 0.0042*
0.4921 0.2841
0.7258
**means (the three bays)
"It was a terrible experience
during the time our green mussel
dies; we are forced to harvest it
earlier to make use of it. I do not
want that experience again to
happen. That’s why if there are
other means of income, I would
prefer it for my kids”(translated
from waray-waray)
“Our problem is the young are
not into green mussel farming.
They seem not very interested in
it. My son is studying computer
science and cannot see himself
farming green mussel”(translated
from waray-waray)
There is a need to make the industry
more palatable to the younger generation. In
the Philippines, this sector (farming and
fishing) remains to be the poorest (PSA,
2014). Fish catch is dwindling, and the
demand for farmed marine products is on
the rise. If there are fewer people attracted to
it, then the fishing industry will die. Inland
and Marine fisheries in the Philippines
continued to decline, but aqua/mariculture
has improved (PSA, 2018). Production of
mussel in the Philippines has increased at an
average of 10% from 2015 to 2017. Mussel
production in Samar has decline from 6,450
metric tons in 2916 to 4,389 metric tons in
2017 (ibid). The reduced production in
recent years could be attributed to the
reduction of interventions provided by the
government unlike immediately after the
green mussel mass kill crises.
14
JOURNAL OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH
4.3 Education Profile of Respondents
Shown in Figure 3 is the educational
level of green mussel farmers in the three
mussel belts of Samar. Most of the farmers
are elementary level (45.7%), 337 of them
or 32.3 % of 1,043 are elementary graduates.
There were 26.1% who are secondary
graduates, and only 6.2% has college
degrees. Overall, the mean educational level
is a 2nd grade in high school and σ of 2.92
level.
Legend: E – Elementary, S – Secondary, C - College
Figure 3. Educational Attainment of Green
Mussel Farmers (2014)
The respondents gain much of their skills in
green mussel farming informally. They learn
how to farm from family members or
friends. About 2/3 of the participants have
not attended any formal training related to
green mussel production and post-harvest
technologies. Most of the training attended
are in mussel production (88.1%) and less
on post-processing technologies (11.9%).
4.4 Respondents Household Size
Shown in Figure 4 is the distribution
of household sizes of green mussel farms in
Samar. Mean household size is 5.7 and is
not significantly different across the Bays
population. There are fewer families with
two children (0.48%), and the largest family
size is 11 from Tarangnan, Samar. For 2015,
the Philippines registered an average family
Cebu (2018)
Vol. 03 No. 1
size of 4.4 and in Samar is 4.7 (PSA, 2016).
This suggests that green mussel farmers will
have more mouth to feed than other sectors
of society. This adds to the pressure on
farmers to earn more for their families.
Figure 4. Household Size of Green Mussel
Farmers (2014)
4.5 Respondents Main Source of Income
Green mussel farmers main source of
income is engagement into fishing activities
(83.13%). Some are engaged in land
farming, and fishing (7.09%) and the rest are
into fish vending, backyard piggery, variety
stores, fish processing and government/non-
government positions. Most of those into
green mussel production from time to time
engage in other fishing to complement food
and income of the family.
4.6 Green Mussel Farming Experience
On average, the green mussel farmer
experience is pegged at 11.73 with σ of 8.47
years. The distribution shown in Figure 4
has an overall skewness of + 1.45, it
suggests that the population are relatively
young in terms of age. This is somewhat in
contrast with the age of green mussel
farmers which are negatively skewed.
Distribution of experience in the three
mussel belts is almost similar from bay to
bay.
15
JOURNAL OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH
Figure 5. Household Size of Green Mussel
Farmers (2014)
Based on the FGD results, most of
the newcomers are not really into green
mussel farming. Many of them participated
in many programs implemented by
government units.
“There were many interventions
implemented lately in response to
the problem encountered by
Samar green mussel farmers,
many of us are new in the
business” (translated from waray-
waray)
“Many of them only took
advantage of the free material
support for green mussel farming.
Some of the farms they have
established are already not
productive, not sustained”
(translated from waray-waray)
Membership to organizations is an essential
requirement to become a beneficiary to
government supports. This is why there is a
huge proportion of the respondents who are
a member of these organizations. Around
86.96% of them are members of organized
fisherfolk organizations registered at the
government’s Department of Labor and
Employment (DOLE). Others are members
of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
Cebu (2018)
Vol. 03 No. 1
Management Council (FARMC) of their
respective barangays which is part of RA
8550 (Fishery Code of the Philippines) as
amended by RA 10654. Almost all of those
who were non-members is because they
were not around when the organizations
were not around.
4.7 Technology Adoption
The technologies of the mussel
industry generally referred hereto were the
culture methods and techniques widely
adopted for green mussel productions in the
Province of Samar. These technologies
include the staking and wigwam methods
introduced by BFAR and the bamboo tray
module which is the technology innovations
pursued by the Local Government Units and
academe through the financial support of
BFAR and NGOs.
Figure 6. Technology Adoption in Green Mussel
Farming (2014)
As shown in Figure 6, despite the
perceived negative impact of staking method
(Baylon and Tandang, 2015) the number of
farms using the method reaches 364 in 2014
from 221 after one year. There was an
observed decline of adoptors for Wigwam
and Tray module type of farming green
mussel. The spike on the number of farmers
using bamboo tray module is attributed to
the intervention of the government favoring
16
JOURNAL OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH
the new farming method. After which when
the funds declined, the number of farmers
using the method also decreased. Some of
the respondents during the interview were
not anymore active. They were the
fishermen turn green mussel farming just
because they wanted to access the available
government support.
The respondents revealed that they
were able to avail supports from BFAR
which was implemented by the South
Maqueda Bay Fisheries Network
(SMBFishNet). The program recipients in
Villareal, Samar further revealed that BFAR
had implemented the mussel industry
rehabilitation program only on 2013. On the
same year, the funds of the Department of
Labor and Employment (DoLE) was also
released as program support to the mussel
farmers of Barangay Lamingao Fisherfolks’
Association.
4.8 Level of Awareness on Policies/Laws on
Fisheries
The state of fisheries in any
community is influenced by the level of
awareness of laws/ordinances and the
consistency of enforcement of the same.
Philippine fishery sector has declined over
the years (Dy, 2018; PSA, 2018). This is due
to overarching factors such as unsustainable
fishing practices including the use of illegal
fishing methods (Dy, 2018, Salayo et al.,
2006). There is weak enforcement of laws in
the Philippines; this is very much true in the
fishery sector. The weak implementation of
waste disposal in Samar lead to dirty shores
and a bunch of floating wastes on and under
the sea (Orale & Fabillar, 2011; Diocton et
al., 2017).
Figure 7 summarizes the scores
provided by the respondents when they were
asked if they are aware of fishery laws and
Cebu (2018)
Vol. 03 No. 1
their perception regarding its
implementation. Rating suggests that the
green mussel farmers in Samar are not too
aware of the fishery laws of the Philippines
and the local ordinances of every LGU
considered in the study. They can identify
some illegal fishing practices like the use of
dynamite fishing but is not sure about
fishing gears.
Legend: 1 – Never 4- Aware/Frequently Enforced
2 – Rarely 5- Very Aware/Always Enforced
3 – Somewhat Aware/Occasionally Enforced
Figure 7. Awareness of Green Mussel Farmers
and their Perception of the Enforcement of
Fishery Laws
“I am unaware of some fishery
laws until BFAR oriented us about
some of their laws. There are a
number of them, but I could not
recall it. I have not seen some
being implemented" (translated
from waray-waray)
“It's only in papers; I can recall
one policy which was
implemented once, after that, it
went back to normal" (translated
from waray-waray)
17
JOURNAL OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH
Enforcement of laws is not strictly
observed. As shared by the green mussel
farmers, there were some fishery ordinances
but can hardly be implemented. People
tasked to enforce the ordinances are afraid
of the repercussion when they impose the
policies.
“I know of someone who was
caught having been involved in
illegal activity, but since he has
connections with the local
executive, he was released within
the day" (translated from waray-
waray)
The reasons why illegal practices in
fishing flourished in the past is because
government did not impose tougher
penalties to those who do not follow the law.
In the revised RA 10654, illegal fishing
practices will pay larger amounts (up to
millions) for plundering the sea. Green
mussel farmers need to be aware about the
industry, what are the laws/rules (such as
BFAR Fisheries Administrative Order No
138, series of 1982) that applies to their
conditions (if there are none, local ordinance
may help).
5. Conclusion and Recommendation
The characteristics of Samar green
mussel farmers are not significantly
different between bays.
Samar green mussel farmer’s
population is getting older which has
potential sustainability effect to the industry.
Fewer younger farmers are entering the
industry.
Most of the green mussel farmers in
Samar are elementary graduate/level and
two-thirds of them have not attended
Cebu (2018)
Vol. 03 No. 1
capability building training related to green
mussel farming.
Technology adoption of
recommended green mussel farming
methodology is weak. The farmers prefer
simpler farming style even if they were told
those methods have long term negative
impact on the environment.
Awareness of green mussel farmers
about fishery law and enforcement level is
wanting.
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