Lecture/Discussion #2:

The Philippine coastal zone:

An endangered environment,
issues, problems
Coral reef degradation
Status of Philippine coral
reefs at 14 localities
(85 reefs samples)
2 .4 %

Pe rc e ntag e o f o bs e rvatio ns
(EXC ELLENT)
2 2 .4 % 2 3 .5 %

(GOOD) (POOR)

(FAIR)

51 .7 %
Cora l re ef co n dit ion as p e rc en ta ge of h ard co ral cove r

0 -2 4 .9 % Po or 2 5 -4 9 .9 % Fa ir 5 0 -7 4 .9 % Go o d 7 5 -10 0 % Exce lle nt

(8 5 re efs s am pled )
Mangroves in trouble
Decline of mangrove
resource in the Philippines

4 5 0 , 0 0 0 ha
in 1 9 1 8

(Th o us a n ds of Hect are s )

Mang rove Are a 2 8 8 , 0 0 0 ha
in 1 9 7 0

1 4 0 , 0 0 0 ha
1 7 5 , 0 0 0 ha in 1 9 8 8
in 1 9 8 0
1 3 8 , 0 0 0 ha
?
in 1 9 9 3
 Loss of seagrass beds
Loss of seagrass beds are attributed to the following:
 Land use activities such as encroachment in the habitat
through reclamation and improper shoreline
development including the construction of structures
that impede natural water movement
 Use of destructive fishing gears that scour and scrape
the seagrass beds
 Sedimentation and siltation from upland areas
 Introduction of water borne pollutants from domestic
and industrial wastes
Loss of marine sand through mining/quarrying
and inappropriate coastal development
Seasonal variations in beach erosion
and accretion
Low energy w aves gradually m ove sand tow ards the
beach and slow ly rebuild a gently sloping beach profile
B ea ch

H igh energy w aves erode beach and carry sand to deposit offshore

Beach

O ffshore
 Examples of down-drift erosion resulting from
hard engineering solutions and headlands as
seen from aerial view

B ea ch B ea ch
E rosion
E rosion A ccretio n
G ro in s A ccretio n B reakw ater
L itto ral d rift/curren t S ea L itto ral d rift/curren t S ea
B ea ch B ea ch
Ro c ky E rosion
E rosion h ead lan d

A ccretio n A ccretio n
L itto ral d rift/curren t J etties S ea L itto ral d rift/curren t S ea
 Declining fish catch
Trend in estimated daily fish catch Fisheries-related food
per municipal fisher for Olango production for 1951-1996
Island, Cebu 3 ,0 0 0 ,0 00
L a rg e -s ca le (c om m erc ial) fis he ry
20 S m a ll-s ca le (m u nicip al) fis he ry
2 ,5 0 0 ,0 00
In la n d (m u nic ip al) c a ptu re fish e ry
18 A q u a cu ltu re

Pro d u c tio n (m t)
2 ,0 0 0 ,0 00
16
I n tro d u c tio n o f
so d iu m c y a n id e an d
C atc h (Kg/p ers on /da y)

14 d y n a m it e f ish in g 1 ,5 0 0 ,0 00
12
1 ,0 0 0 ,0 00
10
U s e o f f in e
8 m es h n ets 5 0 0,0 00
6

4 0
5 1 5 3 55 5 7 5 9 6 1 6 3 6 5 6 7 6 9 7 1 7 3 7 5 7 7 7 9 8 1 8 3 8 5 87 8 9 9 1 9 3 9 5
2 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 19 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 1 9 19 1 9 1 9

0 Ye a r
1 95 0 1 96 0 1 97 0 1 98 0 1 99 0 1 99 8 2 00 0
 Trend in catch per
unit effort for
municipal small
pelagic fisheries since
1948 and total
fisheries production

45

40

K g o f Fish cau g h t fo r stan d ard u n it o f effo rt

35

30

Average catch of fish 25

per unit effort since 20

1940s for fishers using 15

hook-and-line from six 10

provinces around the 5

Philippines 0
19 40 19 50 19 60 19 70 19 80 19 90 20 00
Year
 Illegal destructive activities
 Blast fishing, use of poisons, superlights, muro-ami, fine mesh nets,
in fishing
 Conversion of mangroves and seagrass habitats to land or other
uses resulting in decline of nearshore catch
 Mine sand and beach mining/quarrying
 Harvesting of banned species including corals, whale sharks, manta
rays, giant clams and endangered marine species
 Non-observance of shoreline setback
regulations resulting in damaging construction
activities and development in the coastal zone
 Inappropriate tourism activities/
development
 Pollution
 Loss of marine biodiversity
 Common fishing gear (nationally or locally) in the
Philippines and the potential damage caused by the gear

Blast fishing
- destroys the reef and fish
habitat along with the fish

Compressor fishing

- allows the fisher to use poison,

collect almost anything, and to
seriously disturb the bottom habitat
 Too much fishing is killing the fishing.
Overfishing occurs when the
quantity of fish harvested causes
a net reduction of the fish
population, thereby limiting
production from fish stock for the
future.

For so long now, fish are caught

much faster than their ability to
naturally replenish.
The lack of management measures and open access fishing
result in overfishing and overexploitation of fish stocks

5 6
3 4
1

1 – Beach seine (municipal) 5 – Drive-in net (municipal)

2 – Trawl (commercial/municipal) 6 – Round haul seine (municipal)
3 – Fish corral (municipal) 7 – Purse seine/ring net
4 – Scissor net (municipal) (municipal)
 Overfishing
Growth overfishing Level of exploitation of
world’s major fisheries
Dep leted Mo d erately ex p lo ited
Size of fish available

O v erexp lo ited 8% 26%

17%

1 2 3 4 5 Fu lly ex p lo ited
Years of fishing 49%

Current technologies give us the ability to catch everything in the sea

 Long-term impacts of overfishing

B eg in n in g p o pu latio n

Natural selectio n Fish eries selectio n

A fter m an y g en eratio n s

A fter m an y m ore g en eratio ns

 Increase in density of fishers
Lu zon
All major bays in the
9
Philippines are heavily
10
exploited
1

8
3

5
Important fishing bays:
2
1. Manila Bay 7. Visayan Sea
7 6
2. Carigara Bay 8. Burias Pass
3. Samar 9. San Miguel
Bay
an

11
la w

4 Vis a ya s 4. Guimaras Strait 10. Ragay Gulf

Pa

5. Maqueda Bay 11. Honda Bay

Very heavily exploited Minda na o
> 70 fishers/km 6. Leyte Gulf 12. Illana Bay
Heavily exploited
2- 70 fishers/km 12
Lightly exploited Dava o Gu lf
> 0.2-2 fishers/km*

*The only coastal areas which may not be overfished occur here.

Source: Edralin et al. 1987

 Inappropriate coastal development
current accretion
current

coral
original runway reef
beach new runway
eroded
area
reef

seawall to
protect
houses
ORIGINAL NEW

Extension of airport runway interferes with sand

movement, Dumaguete City
 Frequent environmental impacts of tourism
development and activities on the coastal zone
Resorts built
on beach

Beach walls
cause erosion

Jetskis in
nearshore
swimming areas

Sewer outfalls

Inappropriate breakwater Anchors break corals

or causeways
 Resource use conflicts
 Coastal areas all over the Philippines are
being developed rapidly because people like
to live and do business near the sea.
 The consequence is that beaches, foreshore
land areas and nearshore coastal habitats are
in demand and are being utilized for a wide
variety of conflicting human uses including
industry, construction, dumping, boat
landings, tourism and human settlements.

Commercial size fishing

vessels often compete with
small-scale fishers in
municipal waters
Nearshore fisheries support many thousands of
coastal dwellers through livelihood and food
 Pollution and loss of water quality

 About 50% of the

coastal and marine
pollution in the
Philippines comes
from runoff and
land-based
discharges.
Improper waste disposal is
becoming a major problem
 Erosion, sedimentation, accretion
 Illegal logging and
improper site
development have
resulted in erosion
of lands and
subsequent
sedimentation of
wetlands and
foreshore areas.

Shoreline erosion
causes a real loss
of land
Growing population and deepening poverty
 The coastal areas are under increasing
pressure from rapid population growth
of 2.4% per year and the consequent
concentration of development activities
in the coastal strip.
 More than 60% of the Philippine
population live within what are
considered coastal areas.
 The increasing population and poverty
have put additional pressure on
resources, subsequently resulting in
increasing environmental damage,
overfishing and alarming degradation
of habitats.
The average Filipino family has
more than 5 members