Integrating Community Perceptions on Harmful Algal Blooms to Policies for Mitigation: A Case Study of Fishing Communities in Eastern Visayas Philippines

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) threaten marine ecosystems, coastal economies, and human health across the globe. In the Philippines, HABs have long posed serious ecological and socio-economic challenges, leading to massive fish kills, shellfish poisoning (PSP), and loss of livelihood in coastal communities. Recurring incidents and mortalities from HABs and PSP indicate a critical gap between scientific data and community-level understanding. This study investigates the knowledge, beliefs, and practices (KBPs) of fishing communities in Eastern Visayas—recognized as a HABs hotspot—to uncover how local awareness and perceptions influence risk response and management. By integrating community perspectives, we explore how societal attitudes, cultural values, and economic dependencies shape community resilience and policy compliance during HABs events. Our findings emphasize the importance of local knowledge integration in designing effective HABs communication, governance, and mitigation strategies. Ultimately, this research aims to strengthen community-based management and inform evidence-based policy interventions that can minimize the ecological, economic, and human health impacts of harmful algal blooms in the Philippines and beyond. The study employed a face-to-face survey among 334 fishers from the red tide-affected municipalities of Carigara, Leyte and Caibiran, Biliran using a validated 45-item KBPs questionnaire; data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, binomial knowledge scoring, factor analysis, and ordered logistic regression to examine relationships among community responses to harmful algal blooms. Results show that at least 50% of the population is knowledgeable of basic scientific concepts of HABs including its causes, occurrence, and socio-economic impacts. However, knowledge gaps in treatment and prevention are evident. Scientifically grounded ecological knowledge of HABs within the community is also associated with safer HABs-related practices which may contribute to reducing cases of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) and related mortalities. Knowledge is driven by socio-demographic profile including age, and income but is not correlated to education, sex and type of employment. Factor analysis of belief variables revealed three factors influencing community perception including (a) government and individual action, (b) lifestyle and social setting, and (c) environmental impacts. HABs practices in the community is primarily driven by knowledge and beliefs variables than socio-demographic factors. The results of this study may be used as a basis for the improvement of HABs monitoring systems and the formulation of government policies including education campaigns, community-led monitoring strategies and regulatory measures that aim to mitigate the impacts of red tide on coastal communities.