Determinants of fishery overexploitation in Laguna Lake [Philippines].
1990
Valerio A.T.
The lakes water is adversely affected by pollution that comes largely from domestic effluents, industrial activities and agricultural intensification. The empirical results indicate that total fishery production is declining. The factors that have significant effects on fishery overexploitation are the number of fishermen, number of boats in operation, forest cover, price of fish and the population of livestock (swine, cattle, and chicken). The significance of the level of fishing effort confirmed the popular allegation that Laguna Lake is overexploited. It also reflected that it has already reached the maximum sustainable yield since any attempt to increase the fishing effort still results in a dwindling catch. The rapid degradation of Laguna Lake stems mainly from increased population and its attendant problems. As population increases beyond sustainable support capacity of the resource base, the greater is the need to exploit the resources. To protect the welfare of the lake-shore families and to preserve the lake, a unified policy on fishery management is necessary. Effective implementation of policies can be attained through proper coordination among concerned agencies such as the Laguna Lake Development Authority, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and others. This must be done in close consultation with local government units both at the town and provincial levels.
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