Impacts of closed season on Philippine sardines industry: a tale of two seas

Abstract

Since 2011, the Philippine Government has imposed a closed fishing season on various major fishing grounds during the sardine spawning season. Implemented during the tail end of the year until March the following year, the closed fishing season has been both a boon and bane for communities. In the sardines capital of the Zamboanga Peninsula in southern Philippines, the ban has boosted catch sizes for artisanal fishers, while in the Visayan Sea in central Philippines, catches have dwindled. Experts point to different implementations of the fishing ban in the two regions and highlight the need to assess the economic implications of the measures, particularly to marginalized fishers.