M.R. Jacinto et al. / Fisheries Research 161 (2015) 174–181 179 Table 6 Vulnerability indices of tuna and sardine sectors to climate change in selected landing sites in General Santos and Zamboanga City. Parameters VA components Exposure Fishing ground Household Catch comparison Age structure Dependence on resource Health conditions Awareness Sources of CC information Strategies Literacy Sensitivity Adaptive Capacity Overall Vulnerability Index Tuna sector in General Santos Sardine sector in Zamboanga City Score Subtotal Score Subtotal L L M L H L L L L M L M L M L H L L L L M L M L M M L M Legend: L = low, M = medium, H = high vulnerability. systems or programs for climate change. These support systems or programs usually include seminars, workshops, and training that inform and educate people on the current issues of climate change and how they can deal with the impacts through adaptation, risk reduction, and diversification of livelihood (e.g., Songcuan and Santos, 2013). Data from this variable were collected from local leaders (i.e., city or provincial agriculturist officer). 3.1.3.6. Access to information. The fisher’s ability to cope with the disasters brought about by climate change depends on their accessibility to climate-related knowledge through different means (i.e., TV, radio, newspaper, internet, school, etc.). 3.1.3.7. Annual income from fishing. Livelihood income from fishing is a common indicator that characterizes the economic profile of a community (e.g., Muallil et al., 2011; Mamauag et al., 2013). A highaverage income generated from fishing indicates a lower capacity of the community to adapt to climate change stressors. A community has higher adaptive capacity if most of the livelihood income of the people is derived from supplemental livelihoods or other sources. 3.2. Vulnerabilities of tuna and sardine sectors Fifty local fishermen were interviewed at selected landing sites, of which 25 were from General Santos and 25 were from Zamboanga City. The vulnerability indices for tuna in General Santos and sardines in Zamboanga City indicate medium overall vulnerability (Table 6 and Fig. 3). Medium sensitivity and low adaptive capacity values (Table 6) indicate that the tuna and sardine resources in General Santos and Zamboanga City are vulnerable to climate change. This finding suggests that the effects of climate change vary in different areas and depend on the nature and level of resource dependency of the community. Thus, specific and more localized management measures or adaptive strategies should be developed for each area. The sardine sector in Zamboanga City is more vulnerable to climate change than the tuna sector in General Santos because of the high exposure of the fishing grounds to localized typhoons, which makes fishing difficult or even prohibits fishing operations. Hence, policy makers and program implementers should invest more on programs (e.g., livelihood and climate change awareness) that reduce the dependence of sardine fishers and other stakeholders in the sardine sector. Fig. 3. Vulnerability map of sardine and tuna sectors of barangay Cawit, Zamboanga City and barangay Tambler, General Santos.