The small-scale fisheries play a critical role in food security and income of coastal fishing communities. However, climate variability and its impacts are affecting fishers, their communities, and fishing grounds. This study aimed to determine the perceived impacts of climate change and vulnerability of small-scale fisheries in selected fishing communities around the Davao Gulf. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to gather data on the perceptions of fishers (N = 220) on the impacts of climate change on their livelihood and communities. Seven focus groups corroborated the collected data and conclusions reached (N = 15). Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to reduce the sources of vulnerability and number of impacts of climate change. Regression was used to determine factors influencing the catch per unit effort (CPUE). The PCA results showed that for the vulnerability, the sources, coral bleaching, inadequate food, lack of credit access, changes in weather pattern and hotter temperature contributed highly. For the climate change impacts, the factors, less seasonality, unclear reproductive patterns, diseases in the catch, invasive species, decrease in catch and venturing farther to fish offshore were substantially influential. Further analysis showed that disease and invasive species, decrease in fish catch, fishing farther offshore, and monthly income affected the CPUE of the fisheries. Recommendations for climate change vulnerability reduction based on the conclusions reached in this study include more financial credit access, apprehension of illegal fishers, increased capacity building and technical skills for coastal communities, supplemental livelihoods, and information dissemination on climate change adaptation strategies.

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Women’s role and support for the fisheries are barely acknowledged, they are stereotyped and marginalized and given limited participation in the fisheries. This study aims to describe the role of women and investigate their support for the closed fishing season in the small-scale fisheries (SSF) of Davao Gulf, Philippines. Survey data were collected in six study sites, only surveying women respondents involved in fishing and fishery-related activities. Interviews were conducted from November 2019 to July 2020 with respondents from Governor Generoso, Lupon, Davao City, Sta. Maria, Malita, and Don Marcelino (N = 255). The information collected was validated through seven focus groups with a total number of participants, N = 112. Results showed that women respondents who live near the shore, were poorly educated, attended elementary level (38%), do not own any parcel of land (91%), but have access to microfinance credit (64%). Women participated in the fisheries by gleaning for food and income. Some of their activities were performed to support their husbands, including preparing fishing gears (23%), food processing (6%), collecting and sorting fishery products (10%), marketing fish catches (25%), and gleaning (21%). Other results showed that women strongly support the closed fishing season which was significantly influenced by fisheries-related variables e.g. proportion of catch sold, and belonging to a family of fishers [B = 0.459 (S.E.=0.188), Wald = 5.928 df = 1, p = .015]. They support the policy for sustainability of their husband’s catches and their livelihood. Women also mentioned the need for financial seed capital for fishing gears, fishing operation and rented stalls for selling of fish.