The prevalence of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in Mabuhay, Zamboanga Sibugay, Philippines

Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing remains a significant challenge to sustainable fisheries in the Philippines, especially at the municipal level. As of 2023, IUU fishing risk in Mabuhay, Zamboanga Sibugay has not been evaluated yet. This study assessed for the first time the prevalence of IUU fishing in Mabuhay across 16 coastal barangays using the Philippine IUU Fishing Index and Threat Assessment Tool (I-FIT) developed by DA-BFAR and USAID. The IUU fishing prevalence was measured using 10 indicators and a scoring scale of 1-4 (low-very high) with a data quality scoring of 1-3 (low-high). The findings of this study revealed that Mabuhay has a prevalence score of 2.5, indicating a moderate risk to IUU fishing, slightly lower than the national average score of 2.58. The key prevalence factors included very high apprehensions relative to the patrolling effort (62.5%), absence of regular monitoring or reporting of fish catches, low registration of fishers (41.3%) and fishing vessels (4.31%), and most illegal activities were coastal habitat-damaging (97.44%). The data quality of this assessment scored 2.2, denoting medium reliability. This study recommends enhancing enforcement and monitoring in high-risk areas of IUU fishing, increasing and improving the registration of both fishers and fishing vessels, establishing catch reporting and monitoring system, raising awareness on IUU fishing through IEC campaigns, engaging community participation, and conducting an annual assessment of IUU fishing to track changes and improve management strategies to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing in Mabuhay. published by the Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences | JBES