Bicol and Mindoro, the Philippines – This World Tuna Day, women are leading the way toward sustainable fisheries.
On the 2nd of May, Imelda Belda and Conchita Roldan were installed as the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Regional Fisherfolk Director for Region V and MIMAROPA, respectively.
The installation of the new Fisherfolk Directors coincided with the worldwide celebration of World Tuna Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness for the importance of tuna and its conservation.
Economically and environmentally important and a staple part of the livelihoods of fishers across the globe, yellowfin tuna is subjected to many pressures that threaten their population.
WWF-Philippines is working to safeguard yellowfin tuna fisheries of the Philippines. Part and parcel to this work is empowering the small-scale fishers who rely on these fisheries.
Regional Fisherfolk Directors are small-scale fishers elected to represent their sector in their respective regions. The post lasts for a month. The elected director strengthens the partnership between fisherfolk and the government, while working to elevate key issues in their respective fisheries to the national BFAR. while working to elevate to the national BFAR key issues facing their respective fisheries.
The position of Regional Fisherfolk Director was first brought about after concerned fisherfolk lobbied with BFAR for an avenue through which their issues could be readily and directly heard by the national agency. In turn, the agency recognized an opportunity to build leadership among local fishers and to communicate directly with communities.
For these reasons, BFAR established the post of Regional Fisherfolk Director, together with the petitioning fishers.
Both Belda and Roldan are the seventeenth Regional Fisherfolk Directors of their respective regions. They are also the first women to take up the post, a historic first in a sector occupied mostly by men.
“As Fisherfolk Director I will do the rounds and meet with fellow fisher leaders to see what else we can do to uplift and strengthen our sense of community and our livelihoods,” shared Roldan. As Director, Roldan intends to present before the National BFAR the most pressing issues facing the fisheries of the MIMAROPA region.
“As Fisherfolk Director I want to help understand and strengthen the role of women in fisheries. I will hold orientations on gender to help broaden our understanding of the role women play,” said Belda. Over the next month, Belda will be pursuing a ten-point platform that includes, among others, the empowerment of women in local fisheries.
“I’m really very happy that my fellow fishers chose me as their Regional Fisherfolk Director,” added Belda.
WWF-Philippines continues to seek out new ways to protect the countries’ yellowfin tuna fisheries through empowering women in small-scale fisheries.
