Dinalungan is one of four municipalities in Aurora being assisted in coastal resource management by the Philippine Environmental Governance (EcoGov) Project, funded by USAID and implemented with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other partners. The others are Dipaculao, Baler and San Luis.

Dinalungan has a population of 9,711 (Year 2000), half of whom are dependent on the sea for livelihood. EcoGov is assisting this LGU to protect and manage its municipal waters which is part of Baler Bay and home to rare marine species, such as dugong (sea cow), butanding (whale shark) and sea turtles. The declining fish catch and the slowly vanishing rare marine species alarmed Dinalungan officials and residents, making them decide to seek EcoGov assistance and go into high gear to manage their marine resources.

First, Dinalungan formed a technical working group (TWG), which developed a plan with EcoGov and DENR, along with key community leaders. Included in the plan was the establishment of marine sanctuaries, two of which are fish sanctuaries. Realizing that protecting these sanctuaries and the rest of its municipal waters could be done more effectively if law enforcement was done baywide, Dinalungan, together with Dipaculao, Baler and San Luis developed and adopted an Inter-Local Government Unit (LGU) Fisheries Management Plan.

Fundamental in the implementation of the plan is the establishment of the registry of fishers and boats in the area, which will be the basis for rights allocation and issuance of licenses. In support of this, Dinalungan conducted an information campaign urging fishers to register themselves and their boats, but registrants came in trickles. By the end of the March 2005 which was set as the deadline for registration, only a handful of fishers registered.

Bringing registration team to the people

With the help of EcoGov, an assessment was made in May 2005 to find out what went wrong during the registration drive. Based on what was gathered from the fisherfolk, the following problems were identified: place of registration was too far away for many fishermen (registration was conducted at the town hall); they did not know that there was a registration going on and how it would benefit them; and for those who were informed, they did not know what documents to bring.

The Dinalungan TWG members brainstormed to look for a solution. To be able to encourage fishers to register, the TWG had to devise a scheme that was more responsive, simple and less time-consuming on the part of the fisherfolk. The idea of the “One-Stop-Shop” was suggested, and adopted by the team.

In the “One-Stop-Shop” scheme, a roving registration team was formed and actual registration was conducted right in the barangay with personnel from the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) and the Municipal Treasurer Office (MTO) present to facilitate the process and to provide guidance. The process was divided into four major steps: certification, verification, payment and recording. Each step had its own work station where actual transactions took place.

Encouraging results

This time, the registration drive did not flop. According to Dinalungan MENRO Rachel Robert, close to 80 percent of the town’s estimated 600 fishers have now registered. In addition, more than 80 percent of the
boats were registered. And the drive is continuing.

“Under the old system, it takes weeks to get fishers in just one barangay to register,” Robert said. “But because of this ‘One-Stop-Shop’ scheme, registration in one coastal barangay may be completed in a day or two only.” She said that prior to the actual registration, a lot of preparations were done: intensive information dissemination, arranging the schedules of municipal officials to be involved and preparing the necessary materials needed for the activity.

Bringing back rare marine animals through marine sanctuaries

Dinalungan has not only been successful with its fishery registration drive. It has also achieved something that it could be proud about in its management of the marine sanctuaries.

A Participatory Coastal Resource Assessment (PCRA) jointly conducted in 2003 by the local government of Dinalungan and EcoGov revealed that reef areas in Dinalungan were overfished. Illegal fishing activities, such as use of noxious substances and fine mesh nets, were killing juvenile fish and destroying their habitat and feeding ground, driving rare species such as dugong and butanding away.

With assistance from EcoGov, through the University of the Philippines’ Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI),the local government of Dinalungan initiated the establishment of two marine sanctuaries. With the initiative, Dinalungan also created its Bantay Dagat (fish wardens). Together with the barangay councils of the host communities, Bantay Dagat members spearhead enforcement of fishery laws, and protection of the sanctuaries from illegal and destructive fishing activities.

According to the Dinalungan Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office, latest estimates showed that fish catch outside the marine sanctuary has ballooned to 2,500 tons per year. Even bangus fry gatherers in the barangay have noticed a huge jump in their catch. Bangus fry catch is estimated to have reached 1.5 million fingerlings from the previous 800,000. Fisherfolk also claim their fish catch doubled: from 5 kilos to 10 kilos per day.

To top it all, there were recent sightings of dugong and butanding in the area, once a favorite feeding ground. They have come back. Thanks to the efforts of Dinalungan leaders and residents.

With reports from:
Pedcris M. Orencio, Northern Luzon CRM Assisting Professional

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