The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has partnered with 13 areas along Sogod Bay in Southern Leyte to implement a foreign-backed fishery management project.
The bay included in the country’s fisheries management area (FMA) was identified as a priority of the seven-year project meant to empower fishing communities, adopt climate-resilient fisheries technologies and sustain the management of fishery resources.
BFAR Eastern Visayas regional director Hannibal Chavez said the areas covered by the Philippine Fisheries and Coastal Resiliency (FishCoRe) Project will receive rehabilitation support for coastal and marine habitats, climate-resilient fisheries infrastructure, livelihood enterprise development assistance and appropriate fisheries management development support throughout the project’s duration.
“Another beacon of hope is to be granted to the hardworking and earnest people of Southern Leyte as they recover from the impact of typhoon Odette, which left the province, especially its coastal communities, facing a significant challenge to regain what they had before the unexpected devastation of this typhoon in 2021,” Chavez stated on Thursday.
These areas are Sogod, Libagon, Liloan, San Francisco, San Ricardo, Pintuyan, Padre Burgos, Macrohon, Malitbog, Tomas Oppus, Bontoc, Limasawa and Maasin City.
The project’s three components are fisheries and coastal resilient resource planning and management, modern and resilient livelihood investments, and support for project implementation and management.
It has an initial allotment of PHP35 million for the first three years of implementation in the region.
Among the first three-year deliverables are the FMA framework plan and fisheries management plan implementation, diversified livelihood projects and operationalization of its FMA coordinating unit.
Supported by the World Bank, the project is expected to bring a 3-percent increase in annual income to fisherfolk beneficiaries by 2025, reduce post-harvest losses to about 5 percent by 2028, recover about 50 percent of major fish stocks by 2028, and increase by 3 percent annually the value-added in fishery commodities in the target area by 2025.
The project is funded through a USD200-million World Bank loan, a PHP1.34 billion counterpart from the national government through BFAR, PHP357.18 million from the private sector and PHP123.07 million from the beneficiary group. (PNA)
