With rich fishing grounds in the West Palawan waters, Sulu Sea, Visayan Sea, Moro Gulf and dozens of others across its 7,100 islands, the Philippines ranks as a major fish producer globally, being the world’s second largest archipelagic country.

But due to overfishing and illegal activities such as the use of dynamite and cyanide for fishing that have destroyed coral reefs and coastal mangrove swamps, which are th4e spawning grounds, fish production has gradually dwindled and then slumped five years ago, according to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Pinol.

The once prolific resources, which continued to produce various fishery species until the early 2010s, have turned into unproductive fishing grounds.

A major new initiative by the Duterte Administration seeks to reverse the alarming trend, Pinol said. It is an incentive program for coastal towns called the MMK, or Malinis at Masaganang Karagatan Search.

Launched on October 17, 2016, MMK gives recognition to outstanding coastal communities that are able to successfully meet four general criteria.

·     illegal fishing in its fishing grounds is absent, and it observes a fishing closed season;

·     it has a protected marine sanctuary;

·     it has clean coastal waters free of domestic and industrial wastes; and

·     it has an effective mangrove protection and rehabilitation program.

 The very first MMK Grand Prize was awarded this week to a fourth-class municipality in Surigao del Sur, the town of Cortes, formerly Kagyunod, which faces the Philippine Sea in the east.

 For besting 52 other costal cities and municipalities, the local government of Cortes, received P20 million worth of fisheries livelihood interventions plus a trophy and plaque during the Awarding Ceremonies held at the Malacañang Palace last Tuesday, March 7, 2017.

The municipality of Palompon in Leyte came in second, followed by Calatagan of Batangas. Each will receive a plaque and a trophy and fishery livelihood packages amounting to PP8M and P5M, respectively.

All the regional level winners will each receive P2-M worth of fishery livelihood projects.

MMK is envisioned as an annual search intended to motivate coastal communities into taking actions to protect their respective fishing grounds and promote, in the long run, sustainability in the fishing industry.

Sustainability on a large scale could help the country boost its annual fish production to supply local fish requirements, and enable it to regain its status as a major producer of various marine and aqua products. (oda rodriguez/DA-AFID)

President Rodrigo Duterte, together with Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Director Eduardo Gongona and Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, hands a fiber-made fish-shaped trophy to Mayor William Angos of the municipality of Cortes, Surigao del Sur, whose municipality won the First Prize in the National Search for Malinis at Masaganang Karagatan (MMK) on March 7, 2017 at the Malacañan Palace. For winning the MMK award, the municipality of Cortes also received P20 million worth of fisheries livelihood. The MMK Presidential Awards seeks to recognize the efforts of the coastal cities and municipalities in protecting and conserving the marine environments. ### (Photo by Gian Carlos Luague, DA-AFID)