Sociocultural factors influencing fishers’ participation in coastal resource management in Anini-y, Antique, west central, Philippines

Abstract

Fishing is the only source of livelihood in the coastal communities. This is the reason why poverty persists in these areas. The lack of other alternative livelihood activities results to overfishing and eventual degradation of fishery resources, thus, forming a vicious cycle of poverty and resource degradation. Recognizing the importance of promoting healthy and sustainable fisheries, SEAFDEC/AQD collaborated with the local government of Anini-y to develop a sustainable utilization of natural marine resources within the marine protected area at Nogas Island, Anini-y, Antique.

This study determined the fishers’ sociocultural characteristics and how these variables influence their participation in the community’s coastal resources management activities. Primary data were collected from household survey using semi-structured questionnaire, focus group discussion and in-depth interview with key informants. Means and frequencies were used to describe the fishers’ sociocultural and demographic characteristics while logistic regressions run by SPSS program was used to determine significance of relationships between sociocultural variables and extent of participation in coastal resources management. Results showed that age, gender, household size, distance from the shoreline, perceptions about coastal resources and fishers’ willingness to leave fishing did not significantly influence fishers’ participation in coastal resources management while fishers’ economic well being, attitude towards coastal resources and awareness level to fishery regulations showed significant influence.