Philippines Fisheries Conservation Project

UPDATE - Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the commencement of this project has been postponed to September 2021.  Please follow the progress of this project on Facebook at:       https://www.facebook.com/PhilippineFisheries


Summary

On March 20, 2020, I will leave for an eight to twelve-month stint in the Philippines with the Peace Corps to work on fishery conservation projects. I would like to appeal to you to help fund this effort. Funding is being solicited in two stages: 1) Funds to help me personally with costs of personal preparation, equipment, and supplies; and, 2) Fishery project equipment, supplies, and operational funds. The former funds are being requested now via this GoFundMe page. Pursuant to Peace Corps policies, the latter funds will be raised after a project scoping period and via the Peace Corps’ Small Grants Program (SGP). All interested persons will be able to follow the progress of this project on social media accounts set up for this project, including a Facebook Page (see "@PhilippineFisheries" on Facebook).

The US Peace Corps, in collaboration with the Compostela municipal government on the island of Cebu, and the Philippine National Government, is initiating a marine fishery improvement program. The project’s goals are to enhance the prospects of local artisanal fishermen (e.g., fisheries sustainability), as well as improving the nearshore fisheries environment. I have been selected to work with the Compostela municipal government on this effort. The exact steps taken to achieve these goals will be determined within the first month or so after my arrival. Examples of possible projects would be: Establish stakeholder agreements on marine protected areas and zoning; Develop alternative fisheries; Explore alternative catch methods; Seek means of enhancing income (e.g., catch value-added); Identify habitat restoration projects; and, Promote efforts to reduce bycatch. A CA-NV American Fisheries Society (AFS) meeting presentation on the project will follow about a year after the end of the project.

Funds raised from this initial GoFundMe campaign will be used to prepare me for this seven to twelve-month endeavor. Subsequent funds raised via the Peace Corps Small Projects Grant Program will help facilitate the project efforts.

A five-person advisory group of American academics and marine resource professionals will help focus this project on an on-going basis.


About Me

I am a retired US Federal employee (NOAA/BLM/Peace Corps) with some thirty years of experience in marine research, international/national fisheries, coastal zone management, marine protected areas (zoning), navigational services, international volunteering services, and business development.  In addition, I am a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV), having served in Africa in the early 1980's as a biology and chemistry teacher.  I have also served as a staffer in both the California State Legislature, and the US Congress, working on marine and other environmental legislation.  I have lived and worked in various countries, and aboard numerous domestic/international high-seas vessels.  My roles on the ships have run the gamut from environmental research and resource management, to business development.  Finally, after retiring in 2018, I decided that I still had more to give, and decided to return to my Peace Corps roots.

I possess a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a master’s degree in marine sciences from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories/San Jose State University.

My resume' is available upon request.


Peace Corps (PC) and Peace Corps Response (PCR)

The Peace Corps is an independent US Federal Agency, funded by Congress, and founded by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. Most Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) spend two years working and living in overseas countries, at the invitation of a foreign government. While there is no upper age limit or specific professional level that is required to be a PCV, most of them are young, recently graduated from college, and in the early stages of their professional career.

Peace Corps Response is a specialized program within the United States Peace Corps that was developed for professionals with advance degrees and many years of experience. PCR volunteers are sent to work on short-term (less than one year), intensive projects. In many cases, more generalized, less experienced volunteers will follow-up on these projects for a more traditional two-year Peace Corps Volunteer effort.

Peace Corps works with foreign national governments to identify projects that can benefit from the work of a Peace Corps or Peace Corps Response volunteer. Peace Corps only sends volunteers to countries at the invitation of a country’s government. Job descriptions for volunteers are developed jointly by the Peace Corps and the host nation’s government.

A job description for this PCR position is available upon request.


Funding Use and Discussion

Natural resources are being depleted world-wide. Renewable natural resources are being over-utilized to the point of collapse. Pollution and habitat degradation are ecological, as well as social justice problems. Population growth and climate change are further impacting and accelerating these tragedies. In 2014, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations found in the Philippines that, “…all of the country’s main fish species and marine organisms are showing signs of overfishing and coastal habitats are showing signs of degradation because of multiple human activities taking place in coastal areas.” (UN FAO, 2014)

Peace Corps funds all the needed support to keep a volunteer functioning in the field (housing, stipend, medical, safety, travel, etc.). In addition, I have retirement income that I will use to help support any personal needs while I am in the field. No further salary or personal income is needed by me while I am abroad. However, additional resources are limited to help volunteers prepare for the trip, or to fund the actual projects they work on. Funds raised via this GoFundMe page will help me personally prepare for this endeavor, as well as report out on the project via an American Fisheries Society presentation upon my return.

Peace Corps volunteers normally spend a period of time after their on-site arrival scoping work project(s). All projects undertaken by volunteers must be sustainable on multiple levels and be community driven. After a scoping period, volunteers may work to secure project funding via Peace Corps’ Small Grants Program (Peace Corps Small Grants Program Handbook, 2015). One aspect of that program is a web-based interface that allows the public to help fund projects (similar to ‘GoFundMe’ pages). It is intended that for this fisheries project, such a web-based funding interface will be set up. When that occurs, a project funding request will be sent out to interested persons asking for their financial support and explaining how they can help.

Funds generated will also be used to maintain an online project presence (website and social media) in which investors will be recognized, an ongoing income and expenditure report will be posted, and the public can follow the project's development. At the present time, please “like” my Facebook page at:  "@PhilippineFisheries"  .   Any further online presence will be established later.

I am excited to share my experiences and expertise with the Filipino people. I look upon the project as a professional exchange program, in which I hope to bring back new ideas and concepts I learn from the Filipino people that can help in the management of America’s marine resources. To share my experience and lessons learned when I return, I will present either a poster or an oral presentation on this project at the annual California-Nevada AFS meeting that occurs in 2021.

I hope you will join me as a partner in this effort by making a contribution both here for my personal preparation, as well as a later contribution to the project account of the Peace Corps Small Grants Program. I also hope you will follow my work in the Philippines on social media and give me your ideas and feedback on the effort. Thank you!


Budget

Below are equipment and supplies of a personal nature that I would like to aquire before my departure. Any funds raised in this effort will be accounted for on the social media pages that are set up. Any needed equipment or supplies that an individual or organization would like to contribute directly would be appreciated. If, for any reason this project is canceled, all donations will be returned to the respective contributors. Donors will be recognized on these social media pages.

       Equipment and Supplies

Life Vest, Mustang - $250

Diving Regulator, Buoyancy Compensator, and Associated Diving Equipment - $700

Mask Frame (new) for Corrective Diving Lenses - $100

EPIRB, Personal - $300

Springsuit (wetsuit), 2 mm - $300

Underwater Camera – TBD

Garmin InReach GPS and Satellite Communicator, Handheld – $500

VHF Radio, Handheld – TBD

Fish Finder – TBD

Dry Bags - TBD

CA-NV AFS Meeting Presentation, Preparation and Travel - $1000


Project Advisors

Dr. Gregor M. Cailliet, PhD., Professor Emeritus, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories

Mr. Richard Stone, MSc., Fisheries Manager, Retired, NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service

Dr. Charles Wahle, PhD., Science Director, NOAA’s National Marine Protected Areas Center

Dr. Andrew DeVogelaere, PhD., Research Coordinator and Adjunct Professor, NOAA’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, California State University, Monterey Bay

Mr. James Brennan, MSc., Nearshore Marine Ecologist, Marine Ecological Consulting Services


Citations

Peace Corps. 2015. Small Grants Program, Volunteer Handbook.

UN FAO. 2014. Fishery and Aquaculture Country Profiles. Philippines (2014). Country Profile Fact Sheets. In: FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department [online]. Rome. Updated 2014.


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