There are 3,622 municipal fishing boats (bancas) and 465 commercial fishing vessels and support boats (2008 data).  In the commercial fishing sector, 12 types of gears are used to catch small pelagics while in the municipal sector, at least 20 gear types were recorded. Among the commonly used gear for small pelagic fishing are bag-nets, purse-seines and ring nets for commercial fishing as well as gill-nets, beach seines, and round haul-seines for municipal fishing. The trans-boundary importance of Zamboanga City and other municipalities along Zambonga del Sur is high in the Sulu-Celebes Sea is high.  The stocks of small pelagic fishes that are exploited are likely shared stocks with Indonesia and Malaysia.  The ecosystems in the vicinity may be spawning grounds and migratory pathways of juvenile and adults.   The trade between Zamboanga and Sandakan, Sabah is regular, where fishery goods are brought in from Zamboanga to Sandakan to be traded.  Canneries in Zamboanga also export to Malaysia and discussions are underway in the BIMP-EAGA for raw materials of small pelagic fishes to import from Indonesia and Malaysia.  In addition, groupers and wrasses from the Philippines are brought in from Zamboanga, which are fed with small pelagic fishes caught in Malaysian waters (and sometimes Philippines waters).

Highlights:
1. Baseline data gathering and monitoring activities are conducted to ensure the continued data collection for the improved understanding of small pelagics fishes population dynamics. The results of the study served as reference for the close season of sardine fishing in Zamboanga.
2. Creation of the inter-sectoral committee through a formal partnership with the local government of Zamboanga on ICFRM Plan formulation and implementation.
3. Consultation meetings with the local stakeholders on the ICFRM Plan.
4. Implementation of the public awareness programme (Lana Sardinas) of the SCS-SFMP in the Zamboanga Peninsula in partnership with Ateneo de Zamboanga.
5. Capacity building for members of the inter-sectoral committee through workshops and trainings on socio-economic indicators, participatory coastal resource assessment, EAFM and other emerging topics