A team from the Department of Agriculture-National Fisheries Research and Development Institute led by Executive Director Lilian Garcia and Maria Theresa Mutia, presented its research findings on at the first “Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF) Regional Symposium for Asia-Pacific” on April 9-12, 2024 in Shizuoka, Japan.

The NFRDI study, co-authored by Lourdes Merilles of NFRDI-Freshwater Fisheries Research and Development Center (FFRDC), was presented by Garcia and Mutia during the sixth session under the “Blue Justice” category.

“Tawilis is a freshwater sardine endemic to Lake Taal, Philippines, and is the only freshwater sardinella in the world. Tawilis fishery is a prominent industry dominated by smallscale gillnetters, scattered across the 11 coastal municipalities of the lake.

About 500 fishers are solely dependent on this fishery,” said Mutia.

As a local delicacy and a popular food fish in the region, tawilis have experienced increased fishing pressure over the last two decades, prompting the lake’s management board to implement intense conservation measures. Among the conservation measures implemented were the seasonal fishing closure and establishment of a Tawilis Reserve Area. Department of Agriculture