The effective management of marine protected areas (MPA) in coastal communities across the Philippines would help achieve sustainable fishing that could ensure the livelihood of small fisherfolk, as well as food security, an expert said.
Establishing MPAs plays a critical role in protecting marine biodiversity, ecosystem function and sustaining healthy coastal communities, according to Rene Abesamis, a marine expert from Siliman University who works on research focused on helping reverse the decline in fisheries and biodiversity.
Marine protected areas are really important because they are excellent to manage fisheries and also preserve or restore biodiversity. This is really important for people who are highly dependent on marine resources both for food, livelihood, through tourism, and also for other ecosystem services, Abesamis said.
There are about 1,800 MPAs across the country, including the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Marine Park and Apo Island, which has became a premier tourist destinations because of their abundant marine life.
MPAs directly benefit adjacent communities because it has turned people purely dependent on fishing into workers strongly supported by tourism, said Abesamis, who received his Masters in Tropical Marine Ecology and Fish Biology and PhD in Marine Biology from James Cook University.
Even without the tourism benefits, there are places in the Philippines wherein fishers themselves recognize the benefits of a marine protected area and they have committed not only to protect that marine protected area from fishing but also to manage the fishing outside, agreeing to use only non-destructive, sustainable fishing methods, he added.
Abesamis said connectivity among MPAs, or the linking of local populations through the dispersal larvae, juveniles, or adults, improves the chance of survival of marine life resources.