May 1, 2019

Launch of Mindoro Strait Tuna Fisheries Management Plan Promises Sustainable Future for MIMAROPA Fisheries

  • newly inaugurated regional fisherfolk director bernard mayo stands with representatives from wwf philippines
    Newly-inaugurated Regional Fisherfolk Director Bernard Mayo stands with representatives from WWF-Philippines, BFAR and the Regional Council of Leaders at the launch of the Mindoro Strait Tuna Fisheries Management Plan. Photograph © Alo Lantin / WWF-Philippines
  • a fisherman hauls his catch ashore
    A fisherman hauls his catch ashore. The Mindoro Strait Tuna Fisheries Management Plan looks to address issues of livelihood, sustainability, and fisheries management in the province of Occidental Mindoro. Photograph © Gregg Yan / WWF-Philippines
  • a fishing vessel sails against the sunset in mamburao mindoro
    A fishing vessel sails against the sunset in Mamburao, Mindoro. The sustainability of fisheries in Region 10 are now more secure with the signing of the Local Tuna Management Plan. Photograph © Gregg Yan / WWF-Philippines

May 2, 2019 saw the launch of the Mindoro Strait Tuna Fisheries Management Plan at the Regional Headquarters of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro to an audience of fishery association leaders and government and private partners. Present at the launch were representatives from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines, who helped developed the plan.

WWF-Philippines’ Sustainable Tuna Partnership (STP) team has been working on the development of the Mindoro Strait Tuna Fisheries Management Plan in close collaboration with DTI, BFAR, and the Provincial Government since 2016. Draft work began with the endorsement of the Integrated Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Councils (IFARMCs), the recommendatory body in charge of managing fisheries.

Acting as secretariat for the IFARMCs, WWF-Philippines met regularly with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the provincial government in a technical working group established by Gov. Mario Gene J. Mendiolo, Governor of Occidental Mindoro, with the issuance of Executive Order No. 18-04-18 series of 2018. This was to align the Mindoro Strait Tuna Fisheries Management Plan with the Occidental Mindoro Tuna Roadmap. Regional studies and consultations between local fishers, tuna traders, local entities, and relevant concerned agencies and authorities eventually led to the completion of the plan in 2019.

“The Mindoro Strait Tuna Fisheries Management Plan is essential in making sure that we do not stray from the path that we have set,” said Joann Binondo, WWF-Philippines Sustainable Tuna Project Manager. The plan was written to allow concerned stakeholders to address the various issues confronting tuna fisheries. Issues regarding the sustainability of tuna stocks and the livelihood of fishermen in the region, as well as the governance of fisheries, were addressed by the plan in a bid for sustainability in Occidental Mindoro. The plan calls for a sustainable level of tuna production by the year 2022.

“This plan has set a roadmap that will serve us for years to come,” continues Binondo.

The plan was presented during the oath-taking of fisherman Bernard Mayo as the Regional Fisherfolk Director of MIMAROPA for the Month of May, who presented it to the BFAR Regional Office. Mayo, a tuna fisherman based in Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro, has been a partner of the WWF-Philippines’ Sustainable Tuna Partnership (STP) project for the past 8 years.

With the passing of the regional plan, the foundations for sustainable fisheries in Occidental Mindoro have finally been set.

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About WWF

WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

WWF-Philippines has been successfully implementing various conservation projects to help protect some of the most biologically-significant ecosystems in Asia since its establishment as the 26th national organization of the WWF network in 1997.

About Sustainable Tuna Partnership

Sustainable Tuna Project 2, more commonly known as STP 2, is a WWF project that succeeds the efforts of STP 1 and the Partnership Program Toward Sustainable Tuna.

Its efforts are aimed to promote tuna sustainability by empowering small-scale yellowfin tuna fishers and improving tuna fisheries management in Bicol and Occidental Mindoro. Learn more about the key outcomes of STP 2 here.