Installation of the Artificial Reef in Nasingin Island, Getafe, Bohol, Philippines (Keeshia Lynn Marie Austria)

Artificial Reef (Philippines)

Gango

Description

Artificial Reef is a fish aggregating device that is considered as a sustainable alternative in the islands of Bohol. This technology can withstand the effects of gale warning, typhoons and extreme heat.

The fishers of Bohol have been using Artificial Reef over a long period of time. This is a fish aggregating device but at the same time, used for brown lip culture. Aside from the above mentioned functions of Artificial Reef, the Island of Bilangbilangan East in Bien Unido, Bohol installed this technology around the buffer zone of the marine sanctuary because the floater will serve as indicator of the marine protected area.

Artificial Reef Technology is a project of Bilangbilangan East Fishers Association (BEFA) from Brgy. Bilangbilangan East, Bien Unido, Bohol; Calituban Fisherfolks Association (CFO) from Brgy. Calituban, Talibon, Bohol and Nasingin Fisherfolks and Mangrove Planters Association (NasFiMPA) from Brgy. Nasingin, Getafe. This technology is owned and managed by the People's Organization found in these three island barangays namely BEFA, CFO and NasFiMPA.

Artificial Reef if is primarily made of bamboo with a life span of 3 to 5 years. For stability, it is anchored in the four corners using a cemented container tied to every end of its corners. For markings, floaters are placed in the sea surface but Nasingin and Calituban fishers preferred not to use floaters for the security of their installed artificial reefs, rather, they used terrestrial points to identify the location.

This technology was installed within the municipal waters (15 kilometers from the shoreline) to help minimize fishing cost and avoid the hazards of sudden change in weather condition. The PO are now vigilant because they already installed Artificial Reefs before but were destroyed by the dynamite fishers. This encouraged the PO members to practice safe and legal forms of fishing in order to sustain their project. Above all, artificial reef will enhance fish spawning and provide alternative shelter to fishes during hot season.

Location

Location: Brgy. Bilangbilangan East, Municipality of Bien Unido; Brgy. Calituban, Municipality of Talibon; Brgy. Nasingin, Municipality of Getafe, Bohol, Philippines

No. of Technology sites analysed: 2-10 sites

Geo-reference of selected sites
  • 124.46201, 10.25716
  • 124.45025, 10.2594
  • 124.46523, 10.25189
  • 124.29929, 10.24048
  • 124.29887, 10.24006
  • 124.29836, 10.23972
  • 124.1464, 10.17755
  • 124.14625, 10.17986
  • 124.14642, 10.17534

Spread of the Technology: applied at specific points/ concentrated on a small area

In a permanently protected area?:

Date of implementation: 2017

Type of introduction
Final check of the Artificial Reef were conducted by the fishermen before installation. (Keeshia Lynn Marie Austria)
Brown Lip Harvest (Guillermo Bagacay)

Classification of the Technology

Main purpose
  • improve production
  • reduce, prevent, restore land degradation
  • conserve ecosystem
  • protect a watershed/ downstream areas – in combination with other Technologies
  • preserve/ improve biodiversity
  • reduce risk of disasters
  • adapt to climate change/ extremes and its impacts
  • mitigate climate change and its impacts
  • create beneficial economic impact
  • create beneficial social impact
Land use

  • Waterways, waterbodies, wetlands - other (specify): sea
    Main products/ services: Brown lip culture and fish aggregating device, fish
Water supply
  • rainfed
  • mixed rainfed-irrigated
  • full irrigation
  • not applicable
Purpose related to land degradation
  • prevent land degradation
  • reduce land degradation
  • restore/ rehabilitate severely degraded land
  • adapt to land degradation
  • not applicable
Degradation addressed
SLM group
  • improved plant varieties/ animal breeds
  • surface water management (spring, river, lakes, sea)
  • ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction
SLM measures
  • structural measures - S9: Shelters for plants and animals

Technical drawing

Technical specifications
Materials: bamboo pole, spiny bamboo, nylon #10 and coral stone as sinker

For this project with seed capital worth Php 30,000, 10 Artificial Reefs are targeted to be installed in a linear position.
Artificial Reef is pyramid in shape with the following dimensions:
Height: 12 - 15 feet
Base: 6.6 feet

Installation process:
Interval: 10 meters
Depth: 12 - 15 meters
Author: Calituban Fisherfolks Organization

Establishment and maintenance: activities, inputs and costs

Calculation of inputs and costs
  • Costs are calculated: per Technology unit (unit: Php 3,200 per unit inclusive of installation; Php 32,000 for the 10 Artificial Reefs installed volume, length: Length of spread: 90 meters)
  • Currency used for cost calculation: Philippine Peso
  • Exchange rate (to USD): 1 USD = 51.0 Philippine Peso
  • Average wage cost of hired labour per day: Php 250.00
Most important factors affecting the costs
Supply of bamboo poles and spiny bamboo since they have to find it from the interior part of the mainland.
Establishment activities
  1. canvass of bamboo poles and spiny bamboo (Timing/ frequency: before construction)
  2. purchase of construction materials (Timing/ frequency: before construction)
  3. construction of artificial reefs (Timing/ frequency: every 3-5 years)
  4. site selection (Timing/ frequency: None)
  5. installation of artificial reefs (Timing/ frequency: None)
  6. monitoring (Timing/ frequency: 3 months after installation; monthly basis afterwards per artificial reef)
  7. harvest (Timing/ frequency: 3 months after installation; monthly basis afterwards per artificial reef)
Establishment inputs and costs (per Php 3,200 per unit inclusive of installation; Php 32,000 for the 10 Artificial Reefs installed)
Specify input Unit Quantity Costs per Unit (Philippine Peso) Total costs per input (Philippine Peso) % of costs borne by land users
Equipment
motorboat rental piece 2.0 300.0 600.0
Construction material
Bamboo Pole piece 10.0 120.0 1200.0
Spiny Bamboo piece 4.0 50.0 200.0
Nylon #10 kilo 10.0 120.0 1200.0
Total costs for establishment of the Technology 3'200.0
Total costs for establishment of the Technology in USD 62.75
Maintenance activities
  1. Monitoring (Timing/ frequency: 3 months after installation, monthly basis after that)
Maintenance inputs and costs (per Php 3,200 per unit inclusive of installation; Php 32,000 for the 10 Artificial Reefs installed)
Specify input Unit Quantity Costs per Unit (Philippine Peso) Total costs per input (Philippine Peso) % of costs borne by land users
Labour
monitoring persons-day 2.0 250.0 500.0
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology 500.0
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology in USD 9.8

Natural environment

Average annual rainfall
  • < 250 mm
  • 251-500 mm
  • 501-750 mm
  • 751-1,000 mm
  • 1,001-1,500 mm
  • 1,501-2,000 mm
  • 2,001-3,000 mm
  • 3,001-4,000 mm
  • > 4,000 mm
Agro-climatic zone
  • humid
  • sub-humid
  • semi-arid
  • arid
Specifications on climate
Average annual rainfall in mm: 9999.0
as of 2016 data
Name of the meteorological station: https://weather-and-climate.com
Slope
  • flat (0-2%)
  • gentle (3-5%)
  • moderate (6-10%)
  • rolling (11-15%)
  • hilly (16-30%)
  • steep (31-60%)
  • very steep (>60%)
Landforms
  • plateau/plains
  • ridges
  • mountain slopes
  • hill slopes
  • footslopes
  • valley floors
Altitude
  • 0-100 m a.s.l.
  • 101-500 m a.s.l.
  • 501-1,000 m a.s.l.
  • 1,001-1,500 m a.s.l.
  • 1,501-2,000 m a.s.l.
  • 2,001-2,500 m a.s.l.
  • 2,501-3,000 m a.s.l.
  • 3,001-4,000 m a.s.l.
  • > 4,000 m a.s.l.
Technology is applied in
  • convex situations
  • concave situations
  • not relevant
Soil depth
  • very shallow (0-20 cm)
  • shallow (21-50 cm)
  • moderately deep (51-80 cm)
  • deep (81-120 cm)
  • very deep (> 120 cm)
Soil texture (topsoil)
  • coarse/ light (sandy)
  • medium (loamy, silty)
  • fine/ heavy (clay)
Soil texture (> 20 cm below surface)
  • coarse/ light (sandy)
  • medium (loamy, silty)
  • fine/ heavy (clay)
Topsoil organic matter content
  • high (>3%)
  • medium (1-3%)
  • low (<1%)
Groundwater table
  • on surface
  • < 5 m
  • 5-50 m
  • > 50 m
Availability of surface water
  • excess
  • good
  • medium
  • poor/ none
Water quality (untreated)
  • good drinking water
  • poor drinking water (treatment required)
  • for agricultural use only (irrigation)
  • unusable
Is salinity a problem?
  • Yes
  • No

Occurrence of flooding
  • Yes
  • No
Species diversity
  • high
  • medium
  • low
Habitat diversity
  • high
  • medium
  • low

Characteristics of land users applying the Technology

Market orientation
  • subsistence (self-supply)
  • mixed (subsistence/ commercial)
  • commercial/ market
Off-farm income
  • less than 10% of all income
  • 10-50% of all income
  • > 50% of all income
Relative level of wealth
  • very poor
  • poor
  • average
  • rich
  • very rich
Level of mechanization
  • manual work
  • animal traction
  • mechanized/ motorized
Sedentary or nomadic
  • Sedentary
  • Semi-nomadic
  • Nomadic
Individuals or groups
  • individual/ household
  • groups/ community
  • cooperative
  • employee (company, government)
Gender
  • women
  • men
Age
  • children
  • youth
  • middle-aged
  • elderly
Area used per household
  • < 0.5 ha
  • 0.5-1 ha
  • 1-2 ha
  • 2-5 ha
  • 5-15 ha
  • 15-50 ha
  • 50-100 ha
  • 100-500 ha
  • 500-1,000 ha
  • 1,000-10,000 ha
  • > 10,000 ha
Scale
  • small-scale
  • medium-scale
  • large-scale
Land ownership
  • state
  • company
  • communal/ village
  • group
  • individual, not titled
  • individual, titled
Land use rights
  • open access (unorganized)
  • communal (organized)
  • leased
  • individual
Water use rights
  • open access (unorganized)
  • communal (organized)
  • leased
  • individual
Access to services and infrastructure
health

poor
x
good
education

poor
x
good
technical assistance

poor
x
good
employment (e.g. off-farm)

poor
x
good
markets

poor
x
good
energy

poor
x
good
roads and transport

poor
x
good
drinking water and sanitation

poor
x
good
financial services

poor
x
good
Solid Waste Management

poor
x
good

Impacts

Socio-economic impacts
animal production
decreased
x
increased

product diversity
decreased
x
increased

production area (new land under cultivation/ use)
decreased
x
increased


By installing artificial reefs the fishers are not obliged to go further.

expenses on agricultural inputs
increased
x
decreased


decrease in fuel consumption

Socio-cultural impacts
food security/ self-sufficiency
reduced
x
improved


The fishers can catch fish even if there is gale warning.

risk exposure to sudden change of weather conditions
decreased
x
increased

Ecological impacts
impacts of cyclones, rain storms
increased
x
decreased


The technology will not be affected directly or indirectly by the effects of gale warning and typhoon.

Off-site impacts

Cost-benefit analysis

Benefits compared with establishment costs
Short-term returns
very negative
x
very positive

Long-term returns
very negative
x
very positive

Benefits compared with maintenance costs
Short-term returns
very negative
x
very positive

Long-term returns
very negative
x
very positive

Climate change

Gradual climate change
annual temperature increase

not well at all
x
very well
seasonal rainfall decrease

not well at all
x
very well
Season: wet/ rainy season
Climate-related extremes (disasters)
tropical storm

not well at all
x
very well
local thunderstorm

not well at all
x
very well
local windstorm

not well at all
x
very well
drought

not well at all
x
very well
Other climate-related consequences
sea level rise

not well at all
x
very well

Adoption and adaptation

Percentage of land users in the area who have adopted the Technology
  • single cases/ experimental
  • 1-10%
  • 11-50%
  • > 50%
Of all those who have adopted the Technology, how many have done so without receiving material incentives?
  • 0-10%
  • 11-50%
  • 51-90%
  • 91-100%
Number of households and/ or area covered
It's an organizational project with 80 - 120 members each organization.
Has the Technology been modified recently to adapt to changing conditions?
  • Yes
  • No
To which changing conditions?
  • climatic change/ extremes
  • changing markets
  • labour availability (e.g. due to migration)
Instead of using bamboo poles, one organization decided to cement the poles because it is very difficult to find bamboo in the mainland. Also, bamboo will only last for 2-3 years. Another organization planned to use plastic straps instead of spiny bamboo so that it will be easier and convenient for them to harvest. Another reason is the availability of brown lip spawn that will stream either at the bottom of the sea, in the middle or along the sea water level. The PO strategize to use plastic straps because they will just hang it above the artificial reef to have better harvest on brown lip.

Conclusions and lessons learnt

Strengths: land user's view
  • According to the management team, the advantage is having alternative site for fishing even if there is gale warning.
  • It will minimize expenses because of lesser fuel consumption.
  • Having an Artificial Reef (AR) project encouraged the members, including their wives to protect the artificial reef site from illegal fishers especially dynamite fishing and trawling. As a result, the people became aware of the effects of illegal fishing and the destruction it will bring to their marine ecosystem.
  • The longer the Artificial Reef (AR) stayed undisturbed, the greater the income.
Strengths: compiler’s or other key resource person’s view
  • Artificial reef enhanced fish spawning, food chain and improved marine ecosystem.
  • Catalyst of behavioral change among the members of the People's Organization namely BEFA, CFO and NasFiMPA.
  • The organization work together for the preservation, protection and conservation of the project site.
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: land user's viewhow to overcome
  • Monitoring assignment of the members. Be strict with the Sustainable Enterprise (SE) Management policy.
  • The harvest cost is very expensive because it needs diving gears and large fishing nets. Collaborate with Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) for harvest paraphernalia.
  • The organization has no police power to arrest the intruders and illegal fishers that will take advantage. Close coordination with the municipal fish wardens (Bantay Dagat).
    The organization will establish security measures to protect their Artificial Reefs (AR) installed.
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: compiler’s or other key resource person’s viewhow to overcome
  • The duty bearers should implement Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 (Republic Act No. 8550). Capacitate the People's Organization to lobby and and implement the law.
  • The local government unit lacks support mechanism for resource-based technologies promoting environment friendly and disaster resilient enterprise. Partnership among the local government units, people's organization and non-government organizations.
  • Limited exposure to market, business ideas and linkaging. Conduct Value Chain Analysis (VCA) training, financial coaching, Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHS) and on-site mentoring.

References

Compiler
  • Keeshia Lynn Marie Austria
Editors
Reviewer
  • Alexandra Gavilano
Date of documentation: Aug. 15, 2017
Last update: Sept. 5, 2019
Resource persons
Full description in the WOCAT database
Linked SLM data
Documentation was faciliated by
Institution Project
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareaAlike 4.0 International