The Prevalence of Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing in the Municipality of Alicia, Zamboanga Sibugay, Philippines

Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing remains a major concern in the Philippines, posing threats to marine biodiversity, fisheries sustainability, and local livelihoods. This study assessed the prevalence of IUU fishing in 20 coastal barangays of Alicia, Zamboanga Sibugay, using the Philippine IUU Fishing Index and Threat Assessment Tool (I-FIT) developed by DA-BFAR and USAID. The study employed 10 indicators scored on a scale from 1 (low risk) to 4 (very high risk) to IUU fishing and used three data quality scores from 1 (low quality) to 3 (high quality). The overall IUU prevalence score of the Municipality of Alicia is 3.2, indicating a high risk of IUU fishing, notably higher than the national level score of 2.51. This is attributed to major contributing factors such as very high apprehension rate of illegal fishers (86.5%), absence of regular monitoring or reporting of fish catches, low registration rates of fishers (4.01%) and fishing vessels (2.65%), presence of repeat offenders, and very high weighted proportion (88.75%) of habitat-damaging illegal fishing incidents. This further underscores the need for improved data collection, transparency, and accountability in fisheries management. Recommended actions include strengthening patrols, streamlining reporting mechanisms, augmenting alternative livelihood programs, engaging community participation in preventing IUU fishing, intensifying public information campaigns, and enhancing cooperation among government agencies, fisherfolk, and coastal communities.