BBBRMCI Organizational Structure

5 Components of the CRM Plan

I. Institutional Development (Community Organization)

Community involvement is one of the key factors in the success of any project. The main objective of this approach is to enable the small fishermen and end-users to become effective managers. Community organization and training programs will enable the small fishermen in the 22 coastal barangays to become effective managers by adopting approved practices and alternative livelihood projects.

Since 1996, BBBRMCI has changed lives through people empowerment. Trainings and workshops were conducted to inform and educate the barangay leaders, fisherfolks and the community in the area.

II. Research and Data banking

One of the objectives of the project is to promote and enhance the capability of the Council with regards to scientific information, new techniques and methodologies in the management and the development of the Bay. Research activities and recent information on breeding of king crab for example must be made accessible to the beneficiaries. Likewise, recent technological information coming from the different research institutions like the SEAFDEC, Bureau of Agricultural Research, the UP College of Fisheries, etc. must be made available to the Council and project implementers. Data banking systems and management information systems must be established such that information may be readily accessible to beneficiaries.

For fourteen years now, BBBRMCI has been a venue for research amongst the agencies and academe. Likewise, these agencies and academe had help the council grow by imparting their expertise on the technical works and Coastal Resource Management itself.

BBBRMCI has also created a database with information on the 32 coastal barangays in the four municipalities of the council. This database includes data on fishery registration, gears used and fisherfolks' information. A fish catch monitoring is conducted and entered into a database to keep track of the effectiveness of each project under BBBRMCI.

III. Livelihood Development

To lessen the fishing pressure in the Bay, the Council aims to create and develop different livelihoods project that shall give priority to small fishermen directly affected by the enforcement of the Bay Management Plan.

To this date, there has been a lot of livelihood projects that had helped the BBBRMCI community. Current projects are green mussel culture, oyster culture and fish processing. Fish Processing products had been developed since late 2009 and is now under the brand name, Bay's Nutri Food with Fish Polvoron, Bottled Bangus and Shrimp Curls.

IV. Law Enforcement

The Council may recommend to participating LGU’s to revise or modify the existing municipal fisheries’ ordinances to ensure the attainment of the goals and the objectives of the Bay. Stricter rules and regulations shall have to be adopted by the local government units in terms of issuing permits and licenses for fishing boats operators and fishermen. Likewise, monitor fishpond operators in their use of pesticide that are adversely affecting the environment.

Since 1996, BBBRMCI had proposed municipal ordinances for each municipality which is further studied and discussed by the Sangguniang Bayan of each municipalities before approving it. One good example of this is the Closed Season for certain fish species to allow them to reproduce within this period (November 15 - March 15).

V. Mangrove and Land Use

Mangroves play a very important role in our coastal environment. Together with the DENR, other TWG agencies and the community, BBBRMCI build mangrove nurseries, mangrove plantation sites, mangrove forests and protected areas for mangrove. BBBRMCI also helps in resolving conflicts within the coastal environment together with DENR.

Brief Historical Background of BBBRMCI

Banate Bay, a common fishing ground of the municipalities of Anilao, Banate and Barotac Nuevo all in the province of Iloilo, Philippines, has traditionally been recognized as one of the richest fishing ground in Panay Island. The past decade showed that the harvest from the bay have significantly declined due to widespread over-exploitation and habitat degradation driving the marginal and sustenance fisherfolks to live a miserable life.

Various agencies and institutions in the Philippines have done a wide array of coastal management programs, yet public concern is still inadequate. This was due to the contemporary top-down planning and bureaucratic procedures effecting minimal intervention in the municipal level. With the passage of the Local Government Code of l991 otherwise known as RA 7160, the Local Government Units were able to address their own problems despite limited resources.

Premised on the belief that coastal resource development can cut across beyond political and territorial boundaries, the Local Government Units (LGU) of Anilao, Banate and Barotac Nuevo, all in the Province of Iloilo, initiated by the Former Mayor of Anilao, Hon. Ramon A. Antiojo signed the Banate Bay Resource Management Agreement of 1996 on February 28, 1996 to (refer to the photo above) jointly manage the Bay and meet common area development plans through the Banate Bay Resource Management Council, Inc.

In 1998, another Memorandum of Agreement was signed between BBRMCI and 11 government agencies and academes in the Philippines as Technical Working Group namely the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) , Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Reserve (BFAR), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), University of the Philippines - Visayas (UPV), Iloilo State College of Fisheries (ISCOF), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Provincial Government of Iloilo, Philippine National Police (PNP) and Southeast Asia Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC). In the year 2000 the Philippine Maritime Group (PNP- Marig) also joined the TWG.

In 2002, Barotac Viejo, a municipality adjacent to Banate joined the council along side with another bay to protect - Barotac Bay.

In 2007, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) joined the advocacy of the council through a 3-year assistance on its project.

For fourteen years now, Banate-Barotac Bay Resource Management Council, Incorporated have changed lives in caring for the seas.