180 M.R. Jacinto et al. / Fisheries Research 161 (2015) 174–181 3.2.1. Tuna in General Santos The exposure value for General Santos is low (Table 6), which indicates a low exposure to the impacts of climate change. Out of the 25 local fishermen interviewed, 92% live in disaster-free areas and 62% have disaster-free fishing grounds. These findings are supported by the 50-year storm trajectory record of NOAA, which shows that Mindanao, the region where the study sites are located, has not experienced any tropical storm for more than five decades. No incidences of landslides and flash floods in the community have been reported. However, the city was struck by two strong typhoons, Sendong and Pablo, on December 16, 2011 and December 3 2012, respectively. Additionally, approximately 77% of the interviewed fishers associate the difficulty in catching tuna with high temperatures because tuna feed deeper during warm days. An increase in temperature will cause a stronger thermocline that limits water mixing between cold deeper waters and warm shallower waters, which in turn causes a decline in primary productivity (Gribbin, 1988; Papua New Guinea and Pacific Islands Country Unit and the World Bank, 2000). In tropical regions, an increase in surface water temperature coupled with the decrease in primary productivity may cause tuna populations to migrate toward higher latitudes (Lehodey et al., 1997). This distribution may slowly deplete the stocks in the tropics. Furthermore, 85% of the respondents experienced decreasing catch rate over the years as reflected on their sensitivity score. According to statistics, the volume of tuna production in General Santos decreased by 15% from 2008 to 2012 (Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS), 2012). The majority of local fishers greatly depend on the tuna industry for their livelihood; only 8% of the respondents have alternative livelihoods and other sources of income. Adaptive capacity in General Santos is fairly low. Among the respondents, 85% are unaware of the impacts of climate change in their livelihood, 92% have no sources of climate change-related information, and 77% have no adaptive strategies. Additionally, approximately 55% of the entire income of the community is generated from tuna fisheries, indicating high dependence on the sector and thus higher vulnerability. However, the current development in agriculture (i.e., production of pineapple, durian, etc.) has increased in General Santos, thereby relieving the pressure on the tuna industry caused by fishing activity and climate change to some extent. 3.2.2. Sardines in Zamboanga City Although located in Mindanao, Zamboanga City has higher exposure values than General Santos because most of the fishing grounds are frequently impacted by localized typhoons. According to the climate projections of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) (2013) in Zamboanga City, the projected seasonal temperature, rainfall, and frequency of extreme events has increased. The local fishers and community are already experiencing these changes, especially the progressing rainfall and increase in temperature. Moreover, 88% of the interviewed fishermen reported decreasing catch rates over the past 20 years because of the increase in commercial fishing vessels. Although sardine production increased in 2009, it decreased by almost 36% in 2012 (Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS), 2012). Another factor that contributed to the high sensitivity of the sardine sector in the area is the high dependency on sardine fisheries. Approximately 92% of respondents have no other sources of income aside from fishing. The adaptive capacity of the sardine sector of Zamboanga City is lower than that of the tuna sector in General Santos, which may be attributed to low awareness, as well as few sources of climate change-related information and adaptive strategies of its constituents to climate change. The low educational attainment of the fishers also adds to the low adaptive capacity because fishers’ children most likely end up as fishers (Mamauag et al., 2013; Muallil et al., 2011). Accordingly, the local government units (LGUs) in the area coordinate with BFAR IX for livelihood support services to provide trainings and seminars for the fisherfolk. 4. Conclusions The results revealed that the tuna and sardine sectors in General Santos and Zamboanga City, respectively, are vulnerable to climate change. Considering that General Santos and Zamboanga City are the tuna and sardine capitals of the Philippines, appropriate management measures should be promoted in these areas for sustainable food production and security. VA is only an initial part of integrating CCA into development planning, and the key step toward climate-resilient development is the identification and implementation of adaptation options. These adaptation options are often enhancements to already existing initiatives, such as providing alternative livelihoods for sardine fishers during closed seasons, integrating climate change into the fisheries policy frameworks, strengthening the capacity of the fisheries sector for adaptation to climate change, among others. High exposure and sensitivity to climate variability necessitate more diverse and efficient adaptation strategies. Between the sardine and tuna sectors, LGUs should prioritize the development of adaptation strategies for the sardine industry. Moreover, Fish Vool proved to be a useful tool for assessing the climate change vulnerabilities of the tuna and sardine sectors in General Santos and Zamboanga City and shows great potential for CCA mainstreaming (e.g., Santos et al., 2011; Mamauag et al., 2013). Considering that 50 local fishermen do not represent the whole population of tuna and sardine fishers in the area, we recommend a larger sampling size for exhaustive data collection. The tool may also be used for other fisheries commodities. The study shall be continued to refine Fish Vool for the conduct of regional and sectorbased VAs by all BFAR regional offices and centers in the country. Acknowledgments We thank the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI) for funding the study, especially Dir. Melchor Tayamen and Noel Barut for their support on the project. We also thank the Genetic Fingerprinting Laboratory of NFRDI for providing relevant inputs in developing the tool. We gratefully appreciate the assistance given by Ming, Sam, and Mangi of BFAR XII and Mads, Pedling, and Saj of BFAR IX in the project logistics and conduct of interviews. Appendix A. Supplementary data Supplementary material related to this article can be found, in the online version, at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.fishres.2014.07.007. References Adger, W.N., Hughes, T.P., Folke, C., Carpenter, S.R., Rockström, J., 2005. Socialecological resilience to coastal disasters. Science 309, 1036–1039. Allison, E., Perry, A., Badjeck, M., Adger, W.N., Brown, K., Conway, D., et al., 2009. Vulnerability of national economies to the impacts of climate change on fisheries. 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