Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Region V, Rawis, Legazpi City

“COLLABORATIVE ASSESSMENT OF ABANDONED, UNDERUTILIZED AND

UNDEVELOPED FISHPOND (AUUF) IN SORSOGON PROVINCE”

Component 3.3 Fish Production Assessment and

Component 3.4 Structural Developments/
Physical Improvements

BFAR RD Ariel U. Pioquinto, BFAR PFO Francisco Dollisen, FRO I Roniel Palencia, and
Enumerators Jhonas Mark M. Bendicio, Lourdes B. Lasala, Jason M. Leray and Reyna Bataller

INTRODUCTION

Component 3.3 Fish Production Assessment

The “Collaborative Assessment of Abandoned, Underutilized and Undeveloped Fishpond

(AUUF) In Sorsogon Province” aims to conduct assessments of Fishponds Lease Agreement
(FLAs) in Sorsogon as a pioneering area in the Bicol Region. It is an 18th month project being
undertaken by the DENR, in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture (DA), DA-BFAR,
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Regional Convergence
Initiative (RCI) in the 12 municipalities of Sorsogon. Assessments on fish production and
structural developments of Fishpond Lease Agreement (FLA) areas are significant to eventually
identify them as abandoned, undeveloped and underutilized (AUU) fishponds.

DA-BFAR data in CY 2021 indicate a volume of brackish water fishpond production of

594.55 metric tons with a corresponding value of Php105,830,090.00 in Region V (DA-BFAR,
Fisheries Statistics of the Philippines, 2019-2021). Coastal pond aquaculture or fishponds are
important source of food and has provided income to private individuals, business entities and
coastal communities in the Philippines. According to the Fisheries Statistics of the Philippines in
2002, there was a total of 126,894 aquaculture operators working in Fishpond Operation. Some
413,484 hectares of coastal fishponds are located mainly in the Philippines. Indonesia, Thailand,
Vietman, Malaysia, Taiwan (China). Hong Kong and Singapore. They are used for raising
finfish, mainly milkfish such as in Indonesia, Philippines and Taiwan or shrimps such as in
Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. In the Philippines fishpond species are a combination of
milkfish, shrimps and mud crabs. The DA-BFAR further disclosed that a baseline of 1000 to
1500 kilograms of fish production indicates that the FLA is fully developed.

Component 3.4. Component 3.4 Structural Developments/Physical Improvements

Validation of structural developments also intends to determine the status of the Fishpond
Lease Agreement (FLA) areas and the extent of development made by the FLA holders. For
structural developments, a fully developed fishpond area includes the following structures:
nursery pond, rearing pond, dikes, water system, administrative house,
OBJECTIVES

The importance of this study is to observe;

1. Physical structures within FLA’s in Sorsogon Province.

2. To determine whether FLA’s are still operational.
3. To document the areas.

METHODOLOGY

According to the master list given by the DA-BFAR under Fishpond Lease Agreements.

This study used;

1. Field guide forms developed by DENR 5 in coordination with DA-BFAR Regional

Office No. 5 and Provincial Fisheries Office of Sorsogon.
2. Physical observations of standard structures, set by the BFAR for fishpond
developments/FLA.
3. Coordinates through geotagging.
4. Photo documentation.
5. Record in the field guide.

All areas with FLAs within the province of Sorsogon will be the subject of the collaborative
assessment. Existing FLA holders are those that regularly submit their annual accomplishment
reports with regular monitoring reports from the DA-BFAR. These sites will also be assessed
only to determine whether or not they qualify as AUUF. However, expired FLA will be
evaluated and assessed for collaborative AUUF assessment.

Fish Production
Fish production will be measured in terms of tons per hectare and will be determined
based on BFAR standards whether the FLA holder is producing on a commercial or non-
commercial scale.

Physical Structures
The kind and extent of improvements within the fishpond area will be assessed. Physical
structures such as: pond area, water systems, dikes, water control gates, culverts will also be
determined. In addition, the number of workers employed will also be determined.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The target area of the project under FLAs are the 12 municipalities of Sorsogon Province
which are Bulan, Casiguran, Castilla, Donsol, Gubat, Magallanes, Prieto Diaz, Pilar, Sorsogon
City, Juban, Matnog and Sta. Magdalena based on the FLA updated master list given by the DA-
BFAR Sorsogon.

Table 1. List of FLAs in Bulan, Sorsogon with their data record of fish stocking/harvesting,
types of development and structural developments/improvements for the past 5 years.

BULAN, SORSOGON

There are 4 FLAs in the Municipality of Bulan, Sorsogon. Each FLA has a fish stocking
ranging from 3,000-70,000 pieces which totaled a number of 113,000 pieces of fingerlings/fry
stocked per year. Similarly, a total of 30,640 kg of fish harvesting was recorded mainly of
Bangus species. All 4 FLAs have nursery ponds within each fishpond area, 3 have transition
ponds and all 4 have rearing ponds. Structures recorded and documented in the FLAs of Bulan
are main and secondary dikes, concrete and wooden gates, and houses/buildings.

CASIGURAN, SORSOGON

Table 2. List of FLAs in Casiguran, Sorsogon with their data record of fish
stocking/harvesting, types of development and structural developments/improvements for the
past 5 years.
There are 5 FLAs in the Municipality of Casiguran, Sorsogon. Each FLA has a fish
stocking ranging from 10,000-40,000 pieces which totaled a number of 85,000 pieces of
fingerlings/fry stocked per year. Similarly, a total of 31,867 kg of fish harvesting was recorded
mainly of Bangus species. All 5 FLAs only have rearing ponds in their FLA areas. Structures
recorded and documented in the FLAs of Casiguran are main and secondary dikes, concrete and
wooden gates, and houses/buildings.

CASTILLA, SORSOGON

Table 3. List of FLAs in Castilla, Sorsogon with their data record of fish stocking/harvesting,
types of development and structural developments/improvements for the past 5 years.

There are 12 FLAs in the Municipality of Castilla, Sorsogon. Each FLA has a fish
stocking ranging from 30,000-100,000 pieces which totaled a number of 167,500 pieces of
fingerlings/fry stocked per year. Similarly, a total of 44,976 kg of fish harvesting was recorded
mainly of Bangus species. All 12 FLAs only have rearing ponds in their FLA areas. Structures
recorded and documented in the FLAs of Casiguran are main and secondary dikes, concrete and
wooden gates, and houses/buildings.

DONSOL, SORSOGON

Table 4. List of FLAs in Donsol, Sorsogon with their data record of fish stocking/harvesting,
types of development and structural developments/improvements for the past 5 years.
 There are 3 FLAs in the Municipality of Donsol, Sorsogon. No data of fish stocking and
harvesting were recorded during the assessment of the team. 3 FLAs in Sorsogon appear to be
abandoned and vegetated with mangroves while 1 FLA has already portion claimants as per the
enumerator’s interview. FLA No. 2332 has rearing pond within FLA area with main and
secondary dikes. Furthermore, the same FLA has 6 wooden gates recorded with 6
houses/buildings.

GUBAT, SORSOGON

Table 5. List of FLAs in Gubat, Sorsogon with their data record of fish stocking/harvesting,
types of development and structural developments/improvements for the past 5 years.

There are 4 FLAs in the Municipality of Gubat, Sorsogon. Each FLA has a fish stocking
ranging from 20,000-30,000 pieces which totaled a number of 80,000 pieces of fingerlings/fry
stocked per year. Similarly, a total of 91,400 kg of fish harvesting was recorded mainly of
Bangus species. 3 FLAs have rearing ponds in their FLA areas, only 1 has a nursery pond.
Structures recorded and documented in the FLAs of Gubat are main and secondary dikes,
concrete and wooden gates, and houses/buildings. Among the 4 FLAs, 1 has no data recorded of
stocking, harvesting and structural developments.

JUBAN, SORSOGON

Table 6. List of FLAs in Juban, Sorsogon with their data record of fish stocking/harvesting,
types of development and structural developments/improvements for the past 5 years.

There are 4 FLAs in the Municipality of Juban, Sorsogon. Each FLA has a fish stocking ranging
from 500-3,000 pieces which totaled a number of 5,500 pieces of fingerlings/fry stocked per
year. Similarly, a total of 1,740 kg of fish harvesting was recorded mainly of Bangus species. 3
FLAs have rearing ponds in their FLA areas. Structures recorded and documented in the FLAs of
Gubat are main and secondary dikes, concrete gates, and houses/buildings. Among the 4 FLAs, 1
has no data recorded of stocking, harvesting and structural developments.

MAGALLANES, SORSOGON

There are 25 FLAs in the Municipality of Magallanes, Sorsogon. Each FLA has a fish
stocking ranging from 500-15,000 pieces which totaled a number of 125,600 pieces of
fingerlings/fry stocked per year. Similarly, a total of 39,863 kg of fish harvesting was recorded
mainly of Bangus species. 5 FLAs have nursery ponds within FLA area, 4 have transition ponds
and 22 have rearing ponds. Structures recorded and documented in the FLAs of Magallanes are
main and secondary dikes, concrete and wooden gates, and houses/buildings. Among the 25
FLAs, 5 have no data recorded of stocking, harvesting and structural developments.

MATNOG, SORSOGON

Table 8. List of FLAs in Matnog, Sorsogon with their data record of fish stocking/harvesting,
types Table 7. List of FLAs
of development in Magallanes,
and structural Sorsogon with their data
developments/improvements forrecord of 5fish
the past years.
stocking/harvesting, types of development and structural developments/improvements for the
past 5 years.
 There are 3 FLAs in the Municipality of Matnog, Sorsogon. No data of fish stocking and
harvesting were recorded during the assessment. However, 2 FLAs have rearing ponds and
structural developments within FLA areas such as main and secondary dikes, concrete gates and
houses/buildings. Among the 3 FLA, 1 has no structural developments observed in the area and
is already vegetated with mangroves.

PILAR, SORSOGON

Table 9. List of FLAs in Pilar, Sorsogon with their data record of fish stocking/harvesting,
types of development and structural developments/improvements for the past 5 years.

There are 11 FLAs in the Municipality of Pilar, Sorsogon. Each FLA has a fish stocking
ranging from 8,000-15,000 pieces which totaled a number of 33,000 pieces of fingerlings/fry
stocked per year. Similarly, a total of 2,980 kg of fish harvesting was recorded mainly of Bangus
species. Only 2 FLAs have rearing ponds recorded. Structures recorded and documented in the
FLAs of Pilar are main and secondary dikes, concrete and wooden gates, and houses/buildings.
Among the 11 FLAs, 7 have no data recorded of stocking, harvesting and 4 have no recorded
structural developments.

PRIETO DIAZ, SORSOGON

 There are 12 FLAs in the Municipality of Prieto Diaz, Sorsogon. Each FLA has a fish
stocking ranging from 1,000-65,000 pieces which totaled a number of 145,355 pieces of
fingerlings/fry stocked per year. Similarly, a total of 45,127 kg of fish harvesting was recorded
mainly of Bangus species. 5 FLAs have nursery ponds, 1 has a transition pond and 8 have
rearing ponds. Structural developments recorded and documented in the FLAs of Pilar are main
and secondary dikes, concrete and wooden gates, and houses/buildings. Among the 12 FLAs, 2
have no data recorded of stocking and harvesting, while 1 has no recorded structural
developments.

SORSOGON CITY

Table 11. List of FLAs in Sorsogon City with their data record of fish stocking/harvesting,
types of development and structural developments/improvements for the past 5 years.

There are 6 FLAs in the City of Sorsogon. Each FLA has a fish stocking ranging from
3,000-10,000 pieces which totaled a number of 26,200 pieces of fingerlings/fry stocked per year.
Similarly, a total of 2,925 kg of fish harvesting was recorded mainly of Bangus species. 2 FLAs
have nursery ponds while 3 have rearing ponds. Structural developments recorded and
documented in the FLAs of Sorsogon are main and secondary dikes, concrete and wooden gates,
and houses/buildings. Among the 6 FLAs, 2 have no data recorded of stocking, harvesting, or
structural developments.

STA. MAGDALENA
 There is only 1 FLA in Sta. Madalena however, no data of fish stocking and harvesting
were recorded during the assessment. The FLA has a rearing pond with only 1 wooden gate as a
structural development.

CONCLUSION:

Results and observations taken by the enumerators during the interviews are; some FLA
holders did not operate their own fishponds. They hire caretakers or other operators that will
manage their fishponds. Some fishponds have a portion that is underutilized due to a lack of
financial capacity to repair the damages within their fishpond areas due to natural calamities.
Most species that are cultured in the fishponds are mud crab (Alimango), prawn (Sugpo), and
milkfish (Bangus). They usually stock fish seedlings in the month of January and harvest them
after 3-4 months. Most of the FLA holders and caretakers stock and harvest at least once or twice
a year. Activities done in the fishponds are clearing, excavating, repair of dike and gates,
maintenance like cutting of weeds and shrubs, and pond preparation which is commonly done for
about 3 weeks to a whole month. Some FLAs submit their yearly report to the DA-BFAR or the
latter visit their areas for yearly inspections. They have no access to any funding institution and
do not use their FLA as collateral for any bank loan or funding. Most of the fishponds have no
mangroves, especially inside the pond to give more space for their cultured species but there are
mangroves outside or along the main dikes as support and protection to their fishpond areas.

Overall, a total number of 781,185 pieces of fish stockings were recorded in the 12
Municipalities of Sorsogon while 294, 518 kg of fish harvesting were recorded. A total of 66
FLAs have stocking while 17 have none. Similarly, 64 FLAs have harvesting and 19 FLAs have
none. In terms of structural developments, 77 FLAs have complete improvements, 3 are
incomplete and 11 FLAs have no improvements at all. Individual discussion of FLAs is attached
as Annex XX.

RECOMMENDATION:

This chapter summarize the major findings of the research and presents suggestion for
future research. The findings presented in this report were based on the data collected through
survey questionnaire.

The Abandoned, Underutilized and Undeveloped Fishpond is undertaken by DENR, in

cooperation with BFAR and LGUs in the Province of Sorsogon. The identification and
assessment of AUUF shall lead to policy formulation and approval of fishpond lease agreements
(FLAs).
 The Fishpond Leases Agreement and areas in Sorsogon Province is under the jurisdiction
of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of the Department of Agriculture (DA-BFAR)
and released to qualified applicants for aquaculture purposes under multiple tenure arrangements
including Tax Declaration, Titled Ownership and Temporary Leasehold under Fishpond Lease
Agreement (FLAs). This law encompasses Abandoned (No Operational Activity), Underutilized
(No Commercial Production within five years) and Undeveloped (absence of pond
infrastructure). This is termed AUUF in the Province of Sorsogon.

1.The key problem and concern in this study are some of FLA areas are outside the site
location, there is a mismatch in the location based on the map or the actual situation base on the
master list given by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource (BFAR). It is based on what is
observed and we recommend that when the BFAR Officials have time to check and inspect the
FLAs areas and conduct a survey and mapping to find or to confirm the exact location.

2.Conduct seminars to inform other fishpond holders about the importance of registering
FLAs. And to make them aware of the required documents to be submitted prior to applications.

3. The DENR in connection with the results of this Project should coordinate with the
DA-BFAR the areas covered with FLAs that have been the subject of National Greening
Projects. Likewise, the DENR shall coordinate with the BFAR in relation with the NGPs and
other projects to areas that are covered with FLA prior to the implementation thereof.

4. Continuous coordination of the two (2) agencies regarding the harmonization of data,
maps, of areas covered with FLAs and other areas that are released for fishpond purposes.

5. The DENR shall provide the DA-BFAR the results showing the actual area (in
hectares) of every FLA as surveyed to harmonize the data of the two agencies, especially with
determined AUU for future applications for FLA areas that are still suitable for fishpond
purposes.

1.The key problem and concern in this study are some of FLA areas are outside the site
location, there is a mismatch in the location based on the map or the actual situation base on the
master list given by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource (BFAR). It is based on what is
observed and we recommend that when the BFAR Officials have time to check and inspect the
FLAs areas and conduct a survey and mapping to find or to confirm the exact location.
 2.Conduct seminars to inform other fishpond holders about the importance of registering
FLAs. And to make them aware of the required documents to be submitted prior to applications.

3. The DENR in connection with the results of this Project should coordinate with the
DA-BFAR the areas covered with FLAs that have been the subject of National Greening
Projects. Likewise, the DENR shall coordinate with the BFAR in relation with the NGPs and
other projects to areas that are covered with FLA prior to the implementation thereof.

4. Continuous coordination of the two (2) agencies regarding the harmonization of data,
maps, of areas covered with FLAs and other areas that are released for fishpond purposes.

References

DELA CRUZ, C.R. Fishpond Engineering: A Technical Manual for Small and Medium-Scale
Coastal Fish Farms in Southeast Asia. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Manual.
Seen at: https://www.fao.org/3/e7171e/E7171E01.htm on June 26, 2023.

MAPA, D.S. 2022. Fisheries Statistics of the Philippines, 2019-2021. Philippine Statistics Authority
(PSA). CVEA Building, East Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.