The Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) Caraga has continued the regional rollout of the Sardines Fisheries Management Plan (FMP), with the second leg of the activity held in Surigao City, Surigao del Norte on Wednesday, October 7, 2025. The initiative follows the initial launch in Butuan Bay on September 29.

The event gathered fisheries officials, representatives from local government units, and partner agencies to strengthen collaborative efforts in ensuring the sustainable management of sardine resources under Fisheries Management Area(FMA)-9.

The rollout featured discussions on the key components of the Sardines FMP, including harvest strategies and proposed management interventions designed to address declining sardine stocks in the region. Members of the Technical Working Group of the FMA Coordinating Unit (FCU)-Caraga served as resource speakers.

Benjie Garay, fishing regulations officer I of the Enforcement and Regional Monitoring Control and Surveillance Operations Center, outlined the framework and management arrangements under the FMA-9 sardines FMP. Joyce Baclayo, project leader of the National Stock Assessment Program, discussed the harvest strategy to guide science-based interventions. Meanwhile, Atty. Eharra Christa Lasala, head of the Legal Unit, presented the proposed Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) on the sardines closed season in FMA-9.

The Sardines FMP aims to promote science-based and ecosystem-based fisheries management to rebuild and sustain sardine stocks while supporting the livelihoods of coastal communities that depend on the resource.

The regional rollout forms part of the Philippine Fisheries and Coastal Resiliency Project (FishCoRe Project) implementation, which seeks to enhance fisheries management and resilience within FMA-9.

A series of on-the-ground Sardines FMP rollout activities will be conducted in the municipalities and cities covered by FMA-9 in Caraga to engage and inform fishing communities of the ongoing initiative.

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