Tambuyog, in partnership with Denmark-based NGO PUGAD, or People Uniting and Generating Aid for Development, has implemented the following phased-projects since 2011 and is currently implementing a third phase.
PHASE 1 - Developing an Appropriate Framework to Municipal Fisheries Registration and Licensing (MFRL) System.
Implemented from July 2011 to December 2012, this project aimed to develop an appropriate framework for Municipal Fisheries Registration and Licensing (MFRL) owing from the observations that the current system being implemented has inadvertently failed to address some key issues, like the low registration turn-out due to misconceptions on the implications of MFRL, the exclusion in the registration form of fishing activities commonly associated with women-fishers, the establishment of resource-rent for municipal fishery as basis for licensing or permitting fees.
The development of the framework was culled from the lessons of the following major project activities: case studies of MFRL system and practices of five coastal municipalities in different fishing grounds in the Philippines; study tour and case study on the small scale fishers in South Africa to have ideas on the impact of formalization in fisheries; and from a multi-stakeholders conference participated by municipal fishers, LGUs, BFAR, and representatives of Danish, South African, and Malaysian non-government organizations working in fisheries. These learning opportunities provided the project with rich information in coming up with an enhanced framework for Philippines Municipal Fisheries Registration and Licensing System which recognized fishers as part of the decision-making for municipal fisheries development and established the inclusion of women gleaners and shell gatherers as part of municipal fishers.
PHASE 2 - Promoting an Enhanced Framework in Philippine Municipal Fisheries Registration and Licensing (MFRL).
Implemented from January 2013 to December 2014, this phase improved the capacities of both LGUs and fishers in implementing an enhanced MFRL system, and linked it with the broader objective of fisheries resources management through the formulation of a Municipal Fisheries Development Plan (MFDP) in three municipalities in each of the fishing grounds of Tayabas Bay and Tanon Strait . This phase has prepared partner fishers organizations for the twin roles of fisheries resource management and enterprise development.
PHASE 3 – Capacity Building and Advocacy toward Fishing Ground-Based Management
With a clear right to claim achieved through fisherfolks registration and the municipal fisheries development direction set through the MFDP, this project aims to contribute in addressing the fragmented production system of municipal fisherfolks and post-harvest losses by establishing village-level post-harvest facilities in the fishing grounds of Tayabas Bay and Tanon Strait. This objective is coupled with the aim to develop livelihoods for women linked with the post-harvest facilities. Capacities in replicating non-fishery based livelihoods will also be developed to diversify livelihood sources of women, due to the increased exposure of fishing communities to climate related risks. The third objective under this project is to develop a fishing ground-based management framework because of incoherent and oftentimes conflicting policies and implementation practices in the common fishing grounds of Tayabas Bay and Tanon Strait.
Project implementation covers January 2015 until June 2017.