In Southeast Asia many small scale fishermen depend on coral reefs and seagrass meadows as their fishing grounds. A field study in the small coastal community of Malatapay, southern tip of Negros Oriental, Philippines, was conducted to evaluate the structure and socio-economic importance of artisanal fishery and different fishing gears in this area. The annual yield from the Bay of Malatapay is estimated at 13.0 – 24.6 t/km² (7.5–14.4 t/km² without pelagic species). This seems to be a good yield for Philippine coral reefs, with a range of 1.0–37.0 t/km²/year. However, this yield is only possible with a very high fishing effort (time and manpower). The most important fishing gears by catch were beach seine (31.0%), bamboo trap (24.5%), hook & line (23.0%), spear (8.6%), set gillnet (5.0%), fish pot (4.3%), and encircling gillnet (3.6%). The most important fishing gears by CPUE were fish pot (5.0 kg/trip), beach seine (4.7 kg/trip), encircling gillnet (4.5kg/trip), set gillnet (2.9 kg/trip), bamboo trap (1,8 kg/trip), hook & line (1,2 kg/trip), and harpoon (1.0 kg/trip). The mean annual income of families (n = 15) in 1995 was 40,000 Pesos (poverty line: 30,000 Pesos = 1,200 US $). Only one third of the income is obtained from fishery, because most of the fish is used for personal needs. The subsistance nature of this fishery is also reflected by the low proportion of sold fish (37%). These results demonstrate the importance of coastal marine resources for the livelihood of small-scale fishermen and their families.