Effectiveness and Impact of Artificial Reef Project in Tigbauan, Iloilo, Philippines: A case study

Abstract

Artificial reefs (ARs) are one of the most popular and important management approaches to enhancefishery production, especially in overfished areas. However, poor site selection and lack ofmonitoring to some AR projects are common to this matter. Hence, in this paper, a case study wasconducted to determine the effectiveness and impact of the AR project in Tigbauan, Iloilo,Philippines, through a qualitative field survey research approach. ARs used in the study arejackstone-type designs made-up of concrete that were constructed by the local fishers. Findingsrevealed that while other fishers reported that AR improved longline catch, on the contrary, fisherswho used gill nets did not experience any catch changes; rather, it sometimes entangled and damagedtheir nets. Despite initial monitoring showing the presence of benthic organisms like sponges andsoft corals after 6 months of installation and gradually attracting fish to aggregate, lack of followups to the present date brings the AR project impact imperative. While most respondents claimedthat water quality in the installed site was maintained after 4 years, the targeted objective to increasefish species abundance was not achieved. Furthermore, some respondents reported that installed ARswere buried due to natural calamities. Thus, this study suggests that the AR project in the installedsite did not meet the expected output due to a lack of monitoring and poor site selection.