Awareness of Fisherfolk and Extent of Implementation of the Philippines Fisheries

Code of 1998

Imelda T. Silvania
Cagayan State University

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Exploitation of the fisheries and aquatic resources is a prevalent problem worldwide. In
some countries which are surrounded by the bounties from the ocean, they are now experiencing
an abrupt decrease of fish stocks in their territorial waters which causes a decreasing production
of fish yearly. This claim can be justified by the strong advocacy of the European Union, a
_________, to strengthen the implementation of the Illegal, Unreported, Unregulated Fishing
(IUUF) to resolve the over-exploitation of the fishery resources. It should be noted that, besides
climate change, one of the dominating unresolved problems of the world in this generation are
the human activities of people which cause over-exploitation of resources particularly in the
fisheries sector.
With the prevailing ill current status of the fishery and aquatic resources worldwide
which is especially worsened by human activities, this study aims to ascertain the level of
awareness of the fisherfolk as well as the extent of implementation of the Philippines Fishery
Code of 1998 or widely known as R.A. 8550. Through this study, it will determine how the
fisherfolk would be guided with the provisions of the stated laws in terms of their awareness
level to the R.A. 8550. Further, the extent of implementation of the fishery laws by the
implementors especially the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Local
Government Units particularly in the coastal towns of the province of Cagayan to assess the
effect of the services delivered in accordance to the implementation of the laws to the awareness
of the fisherfolk.
Fisheries around the world make essential contributions to human well- being, providing
basic food supplies, employment, livelihoods, and recreational opportunities, sources of foreign
currency or recreational opportunities for hundreds of millions of people. They are an integral
component of communities and societies almost wherever humans have access to water bodies:
oceans, seas, lakes and rivers (Cochrane and Garcia, 2009). So far so good, but a problem arises
because , in addition to providing benefits for society, fisheries also have negative impacts
which, if not sufficiently controlled, cannot only destroy or diminish the benefits they provide
but also lead to damage to the ecosystem with the resulting negative impacts on other important
goods and services for humans, including the conservation value of the ecosystems.
There are many reasons for this widespread problem, including among others: scientific
uncertainty, an inherent conflict between short- term social and economic needs and goals and
the longer-term need for sustainability, poor management practices in the past, particularly the
absence of long term rights and failing to ensure that stakeholders participate in management,
insufficient capacity within the management agencies and others.
Proper management of the fishery resources includes the integrated process of information
gathering, analysis, planning, consultation, decision making, allocation of resources and
formulation and implementation, with enforcement as necessary, of regulations or rules which

govern fisheries activities in order to ensure the continued productivity of the resources and the
accomplishment of other fishery objectives (FAO, 1997).
Some of the strategized methods to combat the diminishing resources in the fisheries
sector are the establishment of the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries under the provisions of
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 1998. This EAFs purpose is to plan, develop and
manage fisheries in a manner that addresses the municipality of societal needs and desires,
without jeopardizing the options for future generations to benefit from the full range of goods
and services provided by marine ecosystems. This further strives to balance diverse societal
objectives, by taking account of the knowledge and uncertainties about biotic, abiotic and human
components of ecosystems and their interactions and applying an integrated approach to fisheries
within the ecologically meaningful boundaries.
The legal and institutional framework
Fisheries management is possible only in the presence of a suitable and functioning legal
framework. The
Ambit

Conceptual Framework

This study is generally anchored on the general concept of Behavioral Psychology

wherein it points out that human beings actions or behaviors are guided by laws existing in their
respective environment. This belief rests on assumptions that behavior is lawful by which
peoples behavior is entirely affected by their environment and if the laws of behavior are
known, it is more likely that behavior can be controlled ( Recio, Mejico and Aonuevo, 2004).
According to Torell and Salamanca (2002), one way to control the behavior of the people
and make them fully aware of their environment is through community participation. The two
further emphasized that community participation is crucial to the success of any regulatory
program. In this case, there is a higher probability of success when the community, the people, is
involved at the earliest stages of the implementation of any regulatory programs through the
launching of different activities, programs and the like.
However, though behaviors can be controlled by the laws existing in the environment,
increased in the possibility of awareness and strict adherence to the law are still triggered by
some coercion or physical force (punishment) and reinforcements in a form of praise,
recognition, incentives and etc. Hence to achieve this full capacity to control the desirable
peoples behavior, implementers and administrators or leaders entice them with different forms
of incentives. This further support the claims of Watson and Tharp (1985) that there is a
considerable agreement that behavior is at least partially lawful- that the environment in which
people find themselves can substantially alter how they behave. If they discover the laws relating
behavior to the environment, there seems little doubt that their capacity to control behavior
would increase.
This was explicitly supported by Tolmans Latent Learning theory wherein it claims that
human learning and awareness are not exhibited in overt performance until there is an incentive
to do so. Therefore unlike animals, peoples behaviors to learn and become fully aware of their
environment are always enforced by reinforcement or any forms of coercion.
Also, the perspective of Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) on how both environmental and
cognitive factors interact to influence human learning and behavior is helpful in this study.
Theorists of SCT also assert that expectations of future reinforcements and punishments can have
a major impact on the behaviors that people exhibit (Ormrod, 2004).
Behavioral theorist Jean Piaget states that people interact with their environment through
two unchanging processes which he called the functions known as assimilation and
accommodation. In here he stressed the influence of environmental events in the learning
mechanism of human beings where he termed it as the conditioning effect. To Piaget, humans
apparently work harder when incentives are more attractive.
Hence this study adheres to the concept of Behavioral Psychology particularly on
Tolmans Latent Learning Theory and Piagets Conditioning Theory specifically on assimilation
and accommodation; and on the idea of SCT where this perceives the influence of the society,
environment, to the learning behavior of the people.
Based from the theories presented in this paper, they note that awareness and actions of
humans are influenced by the activities conducted in their locality which has relevance to the
concepts stipulated in such law for instance their awareness of the laws existing in the

government are influenced by the concrete/strong implementation of activities conducted relative

to a particular law.
On the other hand, it is also perceived that some variables can influence the awareness
level of the people in regulatory programs like their age, sex, socio-economic status, educational
attainment, sources of income, and trainings attended.
First, the older the person is, it is perceived that he/she has a wider knowledge of what is
happening around him/her. Second, girls tend to be more assertive in terms of knowing the
happenings in their environment are. Third, the poorer the person is the greater is the probability
that they are enticed with incentives. Next, the higher educational attainment of the person has,
he/she is more abreast to knowledge. Lastly, the more training a person had attended will
definitely mean the greater knowledge he/she knows.
With the theories and concepts presented here, this study views that problems on fisheries
sector particularly on illegal fishing activities and exploitation of fishery and aquatic resources
are attributed by the fisherfolks lack of awareness to the existing fishery laws, the punishment
and penalties imposed, which is assumed to be due to the lax implementation of the provisions of
the Philippines Fishery Code of 1998 to be exact. Using the typologies of Social Cognitive
Theory and Behavioral Theories will determine the effect or influence of the existing programs,
projects, and activities of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in increasing the
awareness level of fisherfolk about the R.A. 8550 which stop activities which damage the fishery
and aquatic resources.

Programs,
Projects,
and
Activities (PPAs) of the
Bureau of Fisheries and
Aquatic
Resources
with
relevance to the provisions
stipulated in the Philippines
Fisheries Code (R.A. 8550)

Philippine National
Aquasilviculture Program
(PNAP)
Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources Management
Independent Variable
Council
Farmers and Fisherfolk
Month Celebration
Activities
Illegal, Unreported,
Unregulated Fishing
(IUUF)

Level of awareness of
fisherfolk and extent of
implementation of R.A. 8550
Dependent Variable

Profile of the respondents as

to:

age
sex
socio-economic status
highest educational
attainment
fishery-related
trainings attended

Statement of the Problem

Specifically, the study seeks answers to the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the fisherfolk in terms of the following:

a) age;
b) sex;
c) number of children;
d) socio-economic status;
e) highest educational attainment;
f) other sources of income; and
g) fishery related trainings attended
2. What is the level of awareness of the respondents to the following provisions of R.A.
8550:
a) Utilization, Management, Development, Conservation and Allocation System
b) Fishery Reserves, Refuge and Sanctuaries
c) Prohibitions and Penalties
3. How do the fisherfolk assess the extent of implementation of the provisions of R.A. 8550
under Utilization, Management, Development, Conservation and Allocation System,
Fishery Reserves, Refuge and Sanctuaries and Prohibitions and Penalties?
4. What are the existing programs, projects and activities of BFAR which entail the
provisions stated in item 2?
5. Are the fisherfolk aware of the existing programs, projects, and activities implemented by
BFAR and its partner Local Government Units (LGUs)?
6. Are there differences in the extent of awareness about the R.A. 8550 when respondents
are grouped by profile characteristics?
7. Are there significant differences in the assessment of respondents on the extent of
implementation of R.A. 8550?
8. Is there a significant effect/ relationship on the level of awareness of the fisherfolk on
their awareness on the programs, projects, and activities of BFAR?
9. Is there a significant relationship between extent of awareness and implementation of
R.A. 8550?
Research Hypothesis
a. There is no difference in the extent of awareness about the R.A. 8550 when respondents
are grouped by profile characteristics.
b. There is no significant difference in the assessment of respondents on the extent of
implementation of R.A. 8550.
c. There is no significant effect/ relationship on the level of awareness of the fisherfolk on
their awareness on the programs, projects, and activities of BFAR.
d. There is no significant relationship between extent of awareness and implementation of
R.A. 8550.
Significance of the Study

Scope and Delimitation

Definition of Terms

Review of Related Literature

Basic principles of Learning (Hjelle and Ziegler, 1992)
1. Acquisition- initial learning. It is influenced by the order and timing of the presentation.
2. Extinction- elimination of a learned response by removal of the unconditioned stimulus
or reinforcement.
3. Generalization- tendency to respond stimulus that is similar to conditioned stimulus.
4. Discrimination- ability to distinguish between different stimuli.
Skinners Principles of Behavioral Learning
1. Operant conditioning involves learning of an association between a spontaneously
omitted action and its consequences.
2. Behavior is gradually shaped, or guided, by the reinforcement of responses that come
closer and closer to the desired behavior.
3. When punishment is strong, immediate, consistent and inescapable it does suppress
unwanted behavior. However, punishment has the following side effects: a) behavior that
is punished may be temporarily inhibited or hidden from the punishing agent but not
necessarily extinguished; b) even if punishment suppresses unwanted behavior, it does
not replace that behavior with one that is more adaptive; c) punishment can sometimes
backfire because stimulus thought to be aversive may prove rewarding; d) severe
punishment can erase fear, anger, frustration, and other negative emotions leading the
person to strike back, retaliate or run away.

What is R.A 8550?

Chapter II of R.A 8550
Utilization, Management, Development, Conservation and Allocation System of Fisheries and
Aquatic Resources

Chapter 2
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design

This study will use mixed method since it will require the collection of numerical and
non-numerical data to clearly draw answers to the problems mentioned in this study. Also, it will
specifically use Descriptive Comparative and Descriptive Correlational Methods to compare
characteristics of groups according to some selected variables, without the purpose of
determining the cause of such difference and to ascertain the relationships between two or more
variables.
As to the use of Descriptive Comparative Method, it is designed to compare the level and
extent of awareness of fisherfolk about the provisions of R.A. 8550 when they will be grouped
by profile characteristics. Also, it is intended to determine the comparison on the fisherfolk
assessment to the extent of implementation of the provisions of R.A. 8550 under Utilization,
Management, Development, Conservation and Allocation System, Fishery Reserves, Refuge and
Sanctuaries and Prohibitions and Penalties. Moreover, it will be used to determine the differences
in the assessment of respondents on the extent of implementation of R.A. 8550. Lastly, this will
also guide the researcher in determining the comparison as to the effect/ relationship on the level
of awareness of the fisherfolk on their awareness on the programs, projects, and activities of
BFAR and the relationship between the extent of awareness and extent of implementation of
R.A. 8550 as perceived by the respondents.
Locale of the Study
The study will particularly cover the coastal municipalities of the province of Cagayan
named Sta. Ana, Gonzaga, Sta. Teresita, Buguey, Aparri, Ballesteos, Abulug, Pamplona, Sanchez
Mira, Claveria and Sta. Praxedes. In the study, the researcher will exclude the coastal
municipalities of Calayan of Cagayan and the coastal municipalities of Isabela Province which
are far flunk areas and is impossible to reach without means.