Our fisheries and the future

Reef gleaning, or “panginhas” in Cebuano, has been an integral part of the lifestyle of seaside villagers, most especially the women and children. This practice has been ongoing for as long as we can remember, dating back to the era when the sea provided seemingly inexhaustible marine wealth for all.

Gleaning, as an activity, definitely augments the earnings that the fisherfolk bring home. As to how much it contributes to the family income, unfortunately, there is a dearth of data, that, if corroborated, should be considered in crafting and implementing policies and programs in each local government unit to protect them.

When visiting my father’s hometown in Catmon, and as young innocent kids, my siblings and I would join the gleaners and did our own search for crabs, clams and shells and other fascinating objects that our untrained eyes would see.

For us, the activity was sheer fun and adventure. But we did not realize that for many residents in the villages near the shore, they were looking for food sources for their children and families.

Decades after, it seems there are more gleaners competing for obviously scarcer supplies for their meals amid more threatened habitats upon which these marine flora and fauna depend on to survive and blossom.

Tales abound of bountiful wild fish capture in the past, with less effort and time, for our fisherfolk, with them just using traditional baskets near the shores to get their daily catch. Alas, those blissful times are over, as two thirds of the world’s fishing grounds are being overfished, with the Philippines facing the same alarming trend of ten out of thirteen surveyed fishing grounds as over-exploited.

Apart from overfishing that contributed to the alarming decline of fish stocks in our oceans, the marine habitations have been decimated from largely land-based and plastic pollution, coastal developments which cover and destroy the inter-connected corals, sea grass and mangroves ecosystems and the warming of our oceans which causes acidification and migration of our fishes to cooler temperatures.

No wonder our fisherfolk are found in the poorest rung in the poverty ladder, with majority earning a measly monthly income ranging from P1500-3000, as an Oceana study in Tañon Strait has revealed.

Isn’t it shameful that the country, considered an ecological superpower, and the global center of marine biodiversity, has marginalized its subsistence fisherfolk, notwithstanding the constitutional guarantee that they should have preferential access to their traditional fishing grounds?

With an educational background of grade two level or none at all, many did not know that government is mandated to be their ally and protector. Some have managed to group together and oppose the varying threats we inflicted on the oceans and to their livelihoods such as the offshore drilling and their displacement in Tañon Strait. But the decision-makers did not listen.

Many resent the illegal commercial fishing that is still happening with impunity in our municipal waters nationwide.

But local chief executives, except for exemplary local political authorities, have allowed the outlawed and grossly unfair competition from those with the influence and the modern technology for a highly efficient harvesting of fish.

A substantial number of them opposed the filling and dumping of the source of their livelihood through reclamation projects. But few political leaders such as Senator Cynthia Villar understood and lifted a finger to stop them, despite the clear legal framework for protection of the sources of life in our country.

The good news is there are champions from the public sector that have been leading lights in protecting the artisanal fisherfolk’s livelihood. They have established and are even increasing the marine protected areas, such as the municipality of Bindoy, Negros Oriental under Mayor Valentin Yap. He has a cadre of empowered community leaders who are assuming the responsibility of creating a sustainable future for all. Its Municipal Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Council is recognized as one of the best in the country.

This coming Saturday, November 21, is World Fisheries Day. Just like our ocean champions, let us help our fisheries and protect the future. As propounded during the 2015 Our Oceans Conference in Valparaiso, Chile, we can mobilize citizen action to “ending overfishing in the ocean, eliminating harmful fisheries subsidies that contribute to overfishing and overcapacity of fishing fleets, preventing illegally harvested fish from entering commerce, including by bringing the Port State Measures Agreement into force promptly, using “smarter” fishing gear and techniques to radically reduce bycatch and discards of fish and the harm that certain gear and techniques cause to vulnerable marine ecosystem, establishing more marine protected areas, particularly in areas that will promote recovery of depleted fish stocks, using market incentives to promote sustainable fisheries, including efforts to enable consumers to choose seafood that has been sustainably harvested and treating fish as essential components of ocean ecosystems and managing fisheries as part of those ecosystems.” (https://www.state.gov/e/oes/ocns/opa/ourocean/248161.htm)

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Congratulations to the Bojo Aloguinsan Ecotourism Association (BAETAS) for winning the 2015 Tourism INSPIRE Awards for Best Community Based Tourism Initiative in Asia Pacific. The award is given by the United Nations Environment Programme and the European Union. BAETAS was organized in 2009 by Grassroots Travel in collaboration with the municipality of Aloguinsan and government agencies. Kudos to the local government unit of Aloguinsan and of course to the dedicated visionary behind Grassroots Travel, Boboi Costas. Mabuhay!