The marine and coastal ecosystems are economically and culturally important, especially for the people depending on them. However, these resources are vulnerable to over-harvesting, pollution, coastal development, and destructive fishing. The condition of small-scale fisheries in the Philippines has deteriorated due to these anthropogenic activities. Given this situation, greater efforts are required for the country to develop sustainable strategies to rehabilitate the coastal environment and mitigate the declining marine resources. This study is conducted to explore the views and experiences of the local communities of their coastal environment and resource conditions and the various searelated activities or situations that are happening in their coastal areas. A total of 14 focus group discussions were conducted in the 14 coastal barangays in Ozamiz City. Five major themes emerged from the focus group discussions: declining fish caught, the disappearance of once-abundant fishes and marine resources, fishers using illegal fishing methods or gears, domestic wastes in coastal areas, and fishers traveling a long distance to catch fish. The result of this study may generate useful information and ideas that will serve as input for the coastal rehabilitation plan of the local government in the city.

Keywords : Coastal Rehabilitation, Destructive Fishing, Local Communities, Marine Pollution, Overfishing