Project Information

ECOFISH is a five-year project aimed at improving the management of key coastal and marine resources; conserve biological diversity, and enhance ecosystem productivity and restore profitability of fisheries in the project sites using ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAFM). The project commenced last June 2012 and is being implemented by Tetra Tech ARD in partnership with the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) and the local government units. ECOFISH covers eight (8) marine key biodiversity areas (MKBAs): Calamianes Island group; Lingayen Gulf; Ticao Pass-Lagonoy Gulf-San Bernardo Strait; Danajon Reef; South Negros; Surigao del Sur and Surigao del Norte; Tawi-Tawi; and Verde Island Passage.

The mid‐term performance evaluation made use of the results chains representing the Theory of Change (TOC) for ECOFISH project’s key strategies. The evaluation objectives were:

1. To investigate the evaluability of the evaluation questions relating to the final outcomes of the ECOFISH project by determining if these are empirically feasible and practically oriented.
2. To document the implementation progress of the ECOFISH project in terms of achieving its key results, and analyse the factors and conditions that enhance or diminish the achievement of these results; and,
3. To analyse the main challenges in implementing the relevant strategies, and the extent to which the project was able to address these challenges

• Finalization of the detailed approach, methodology/strategy and hypothesis for the conduct of the components of the performance evaluation;

• Listing , acquisition and review of  secondary data;

• Finalization of the work and operational plan which details the updating and/or development of evaluation instruments; selection, hiring, deployment and supervision of study or field  teams; organizing consultants and teams and setting up of  coordination protocols with the involved stakeholders in the identified 4 marine key biodiversity sites include BFAR and local government university;

• Hiring, deployment and orientation/briefing of field team members/researchers;

• Data collection in the 4 MKBAs, validation biophysical assessment; conduct of FGD and KII; and review of additional secondary data; and

• Performed data analysis and preparation of the detailed first draft of the evaluation report