The Lingayen Gulf, a major fishing ground in northern Luzon, Philippines, reached its maximum sustainable yield more than 20 years ago. It is estimated that the fishery now has 400% too much effort for the available fish stocks. Catch rates in Lingayen Gulf are five times smaller than they were in 1990. In 1983, Pomeroy (1989) estimated that there were 767 full time fisher using 25 different fishing gear types in the ten coastal barangays (villages) of the Municipality of Matalom, Leyte. Subsequent visits in 1993 and 2001 found an increase in the number of full time fisher to 923 and 1087, respectively.