Republic of the Philippines Department of Agriculture, BUREAU OF FISHERIES AND AQUATIC RESOURCES Regional Fisheries Office 6 PROVINCIAL FISHERIES OFFICE - NEGROS OCCICEDENTAL Tel. No. (034) 435-9586 Email Add: bfar_bacolod@yahoo.com October 7, 2022 HON, MARIA GINA M. LIZARES City Mayor City of Sipalay Re: National Implementation of IUU Fishing Assessment in LGUs Covered by Southern ‘Negros Coastal Development Management Council on October 26-29, 2022 using the Philippine IUU Fishing Index and Threat Assessment Tool Dear Mayor Lizares, Greetings! Pursuant to the mandate of our Philippine Fisheries Codes of 1998, as amended by Republic Act No. 10654, to sustainably manage our fisheries including the important, albeit complex, task of reducing and eliminating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in the country, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Regional Office 6 through the Provincial Fisheries Office of Negros Occidental together with the USAID-URI Fish Right Program, requests the support and cooperation of your city/municipality in undertaking an IUU fishing assessment starting this year. To find long-lasting solutions to IUU fishing threats in the country in general and in target areas of our municipal waters in particular, this requires an in-depth understanding of the context of IUU fishing in a given area, With the USAID Fish Right Program, BFAR developed a Philippine IUU Fishing Index and Threat Assessment Tool, a set of tools that will enable us to assess the prevalence, vulnerability and responses to IUU fishing in a specific target area starting with the municipal waters of an LGU and thereafter use this information to identify opportunities to address IUU fishing and develop targeted and focused strategies and interventions. At the same time, starting with LGUs and eventually moving towards our 12 fisheries management areas until our entire Philippine waters are covered, the use of the tool ‘will enable us to come up with a standardized and comparable tracking of progress ofa given area and the entire country in reducing IUU fishing over time. To this end, a national assessment of coastal LGUs will be undertaken with at least 7 essential participants from your city through a pre-workshop briefing and a one-day IUU Fishing Assessment Workshop and one-day IUU Reduction Planning to be facilitated by ouriat, Republic of the Philippines fe 33 % Department of Agriculture , BUREAU OF FISHERIES AND AQUATIC RESOURCES Regional Fisheries Office 6 | ») PROVINCIAL FISHERIES OFFICE ~ NEGROS OCCICEDENTAL Tel. No. (034) 435-9586 Email Add: bfar_bacolod@yahoo.com office together with USAID-Fish right namely City/Municipal Agriculture Officer, Cty/Munipal Pansigand Development Ofer (/MPDO), Bantay Dagat, FARMC, SB Committee Chair on Fisheries and Agriculture, Environment Officer /local ENRO and the Fisheries Technician at the proposed schedule on October 26-29, 2022 in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, subject to adherence to health and safety protocols. Participants are required to bring One (1) or two (2) laptops and One (1) or two (2) copies of Coastal Map in A3 Size per LGU that will be used for data encoding, threat mapping and preparation of assessment results and IUU Reduction plan. We are looking at the pioneering assessment to inform our whole-of-nation approach to combatting IUU fishing starting with your areas. We also hope to develop a national report on IUU fishing assessment after the completion of the said activity to aid us in quantifying IUU fishing in the country. Our focal person from the PFO and partner agencies will coordinate the details of these activities with your City/Municipal Agriculturist Office whom we can help facilitate these activities. Additionally, we have attached herewith the copy of the assessment tool to be filled up in advance by your respective fisheries technicians, We forward to your usual support and cooperation. Very truly yours, / cc: Office of the Municipal Mayor & MAO Attachment: Pre-Workshop Instructions (5-Page) & |-FIT Tool Briefer