Searanching in a island, : toward a sustainable livelihood for small fisherfolks.

Item Type Journal Contribution

Authors Frio, A.S.

Download date 25/09/2021 05:56:00

Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/1834/8982 Searanching in a Quezon island, Philippines: toward a sustainable livelihood for small fisherfolks

By AS Frio The Mandaragat Fishermen Association of would be further depleted sooner. It should P200,000 annually from fees and permits Perez town in Alabat Island, Quezon prov­ be noted that previous illegal fishing meth­ for people who may want to engage in ince is showing the way in providing an ods like dynamite and cyanide fishing have aquaculture when this project finally dem­ alternative livelihood for its fisherfolk. destroyed our corals, thus affecting fish onstrates the feasibility of searanching." Alabat is a 54-km island stretch sepa­ supply in the coral areas. Today, one easily Third-termer Perez Mayor Alicia rated from the mainland province by clear notes that we practically have very little fish Caringal noted that, as a partner of the col­ placid waters. Its three towns of Perez, in our waters." laborative project, the Perez local govern­ Alabat and Quezon face the mainland's Recognizing their plight, Mr. Glicerio ment was responsible for hosting the area coastal towns of , Atimonan, Manzano, association president and chair­ for the project and for encouraging the com­ Plaridel and Hondagua. To its backside is man of the Perez Municipal Agriculture and munity to support the project. the Pacific Ocean. Perez town is a 45- Fisheries Council (MAFC) brought this is­ On hearing about the technical assist­ minute boat ride from the Atimonan port. sue in one of the meetings of the Provin­ ance activities of SEAFDEC Aquaculture In cooperation with the Office of the cial Agriculture and Fisheries Council Department in coastal resource manage­ Provincial Agriculturist of Quezon prov­ (PAFC) where he also serves as member. ment in Tangalan and Ibajay towns in Aklan ince (OPA) and the municipal government Not long after, in November 1997, the province, she said that they would like to of Perez, the association is managing a pi­ office of the provincial agriculturist ini­ engage in grouper culture like the lot searanching project. It aims to provide tiated a pilot searanching project funded SEAFDEC projects being implemented in a fish sanctuary and an aquaculture dem­ and implemented by the provincial govern­ the said towns. "The netcage culture of onstration to encourage local fishers to ment in collaboration with the Mandaragat grouper is very much suited to our place. engage in a more environment-friendly association and the local government of We have enough bamboo materials for the fishing activity and to refrain from illegal Perez. cages and the trash fish available here for fishing activities such as dynamite and Mr. Manzano reports that in the No­ feeding the groupers is very cheap. We still cyanide fishing. vember, 1997 inauguration of the lack funds though, to implement such searanching project, their association endeavor," Mayor Caringal revealed. Project beginnings contributed twelve grouper breeders for stocking the fish sanctuary area of the Project activities "The project star ted in 1997," relates Mr. project. Antonio Dimaano, agriculture technologist "In the 1950s," Mr. Manzano recalls, The searanching project is in of OPA. "Earlier, the Mandaragat Fisher­ "this body of water around our island Sangirin, a five-minute boat ride from the men Association obtained a loan from the teemed with groupers and senorita. Eve­ Perez municipal port. Sangirin has a 12- Livelihood Enhancement for Agricultural rybody was happy then, but in the 1970s ha cove area with mangroves. Initially, the Development (LEAD) program of the De­ we saw the decline of fish production. searanch fish sanctuary covers 2 ha. A half partment of Agriculture. They used this to Many were engaged in dynamite and cya­ hectare shallow portion near the shoreline make fish traps, locally called bobo, which nide fishing. While everybody can see that toward the mangrove area is enclosed by is made of chicken wire. This is about 8 ft our waters are very clear and still unpol­ man-made coral dikes. The rest is enclosed long, 4 ft wide and 3 ft high. Most of the luted, we don't have enough fish today. So, by a nylon net th at follows the gradual slope 20 members of the association are diver- we would like our members and other resi­ of the sea bottom. The deepest portion of fishers and they used the bobo to catch dents of our community to have an alter­ the net enclosure reaches 18 m. mostly bottom-dwelling fish species such native to illegal fishing. We believe that The searanching concept is based on as groupers. While these fishtraps helped this project will be able to convince them the fishers' perception that a protected fish the fishers catch fish, they found out that that protecting our fish resources would, in sanctuary could very well lead to more sus­ they were mostly getting large groupers (he long run, be a more beneficial effort." tainable livelihood opportunities for all. which were mainly breeders. They thought "In addition," Mr. Manzano stresses, The grouper breeders they are rearing in that if this catch continued, their waters "our local government can earn as much as the searanch can spaw n undisturbed. Their

12 SEAFDEC Asian Aquaculture Vol. XXI No. 4 August 1999 searanching project in quezon

Near the searanch, grouper fingerlings are being raised in nylon net cages by the Mandaragat fishers association

The searanching and sanctuary project covers a 2-ha area fenced by coral dikes at the shallow portion near the shoreline and net enclosures toward the deeper portion of the sea bottom. At the background is part of the 12-ha mangrove area that connects to the searanch. Twelve grouper breeders are slocked in the enclosure and spawning has been observed

fry can easily go back to the sea as the holes in the net enclosures are big enough for them to pass through but small enough for the Perez town mayor Alicia breeders to escape. Thus, the fishers believe that there will be Caringal: "We hope we can in­ more fry growing into adults in the wild. stall additional grouper cages in Mr. Glicerio Manzano, president of During high tide, even if the net enclosures are submerged by this project like those the Mandaragat Fishers Association one or a few meters, the fishers report that groupers do not swim SE A F D E C has done in A klan" (above, right) showing the area cov­ out as this fish species is bottom-dwelling. ered by the sea ra n ch in g pro ject: "We Mr. Domingo Mamasig, head of the OPA, reports that just a need more advocacy and dissemina­ few meters away from the searanch and fish sanctuary, the The project actors and other tion of information among our co- fishers: that this project is a more sus­ Mandaragat association has put up 10 units of 1 x 1 x 1.2 m nylon local government staff in their tainable and better alternative to il­ cages attached to the ramp of a floating, small cottage-like struc­ visit to the searanching project site legal fishing" ture. The association members are currently raising grouper fingerlings caught in the wild as a showcase for their members and other local fisherfolk. The members have also constructed a small hut near the sanctuary for housing their people who would guard against possible thieves and saboteurs. Mr. Mamasig further notes that in nearby Is­ land of the Polillo island group, fishers grow grouper for the live market in Manila and that they are getting good prices. These fishers also have holding pens for groupers which they buy from other fishers nearby. When the fish reach the desired size, they sell these to their normal buyers. In addition, they raise groupers in net cages. "This somehow affects our grouper supply hereabouts. That's page 38

SEAFDEC Asian Aquaculture Vol. XXI No. 4 August 1999 13 valve species on artificial filamentous collec­ Searanching/Quezon ... from p 13 Chitin from shell ... from p 34 tors coated with chitinous material. Aquaculture 148: 277-298 why we really have to make this project work. USES Johnson JT, Hopkins TL. 1978. Biochemical Our office constantly monitors our own Examples of the applications of chitin and components of the mysid shrimp Taphromysis searanching activities," Mr. Mamasig contin­ b ow m a n i Bacescu. J. Expt. Mar. Biol. Ecol. its derivatives are given in Table 2. Food ues. 31: 1-9 and nutrition, and water treatment indus­ Nicol S. 1991. Life and death for empty shells. Early benefits tries absorb much of the produce yearly. New Scientist 129 (1755): 36-38 Ramachandran Nair KG, Madhavan P, What has happened so far? What benefits have Gopakumar K. 1996. Novel use of chitinous MARKETING been obtained from the project? waste from crustacean processing plants. Estimated price of chitin in 1994 is US$11 Messrs. Mamasig and Dimaano of OPA INFOFISH Marketing Digest (4): 20 claim that fishes like C a esio , snapper, rabbitfish per kg, with some grades priced much Shoemaker R (comp). 1991. Shrimp waste uti­ lisation. INFOFISH Technical Handbook 4. 20 and parrotfish have been observed to be rapidly higher (Anon. 1994). Around 8 years ago, p growing and multiplying inside the enclosed Japan and the USA are the major produc­ Simpson BK, Gagne N, Ashie INA, Noroozi E. searanching area. Also, some lobsters, mudcrabs ers of chitin and its derivatives (Shoemaker 1997. Utilization of chitosan for preservation have been seen inside the site. They also point 1991). M ost materials produced annually of raw shrimp ( Pandullus borealis). F ood out that some corals inside the sanctuary have go to Japan where there is advanced tech­ Biotech. 11:25-44 regenerated. nology and commercialization of chitosan. Van Ornum J. 1992. Shrimp waste - must it be The Mandaragat fishers say that they have wasted? INFOFISH International (6): 48-52 O th er m a in m ark ets are U S A , U K a n d G er­ had some good fish catches in the sea bottom m an y . area immediately around the searanch sanctu­ ary. "This was quite significant, compared to AQD journal publ ... from p 8 the time that we did not have this project yet. PROSPECTS You will also note that the grouper fingerlings Technologies to produce the qualities re­ times higher than rotifers. High percentages of we have stocked in our netcages were previously quired of chitin and its derivatives from 22:6n-3 (DHA) were detected in the fatty acid caught by our members," exclaims Mr. Manzano shellfish waste are available (Van Ornum composition of Pseudodiaptomus (13%) and of the fishers association. 1994). In addition, new applications, es­ A c a rtia (24%) with DHA/EPA (20:5n-3) val­ pecially of chitosan, are being discovered Pressing concerns ues of 1.4 and 2.6, respectively. By providing a n d refin ed . O n e d ra w b a c k th o u g h is c o m ­ nauplii of copepods at the early feeding stage, Stirrings in the modest searanching project are petition with biochemical industries. Still, an average survival of 3.4% at harvest (Day 36) sending signals for outside assistance. Resi­ as Nicol (1991) puts it, “a ‘natural’ mate­ was obtained in a pilot scale grouper seed pro­ dents, officials and technologists involved in the rial that uses up waste, is biodegradable duction trial in three 10-tons tanks. ### project feel they could not let such a noble cause go into remission. They have invested so much and does not damage the environment may of their effort, time and resources to show local have a bright future.” fisherfolks that an environmentally sound fish­ People / Pakingking ... from p 14 ing livelihood can be achieved. REFERENCES "Our main problem is the lack of funds to assessment of its potential use using the current sustain the project" was constantly echoed by Anon. 1994. Thailands’ shrimp industry discov­ ers more ways to make money. Shrimp News practice of immersion or bath method appears the project actors. International Nov/Dec: 7 limited due to some factors including the diffi­ Dr. Henry Buzar, executive assistant of Austin PR, Brine CJ, Castle JE, Zikakis JP. 1981. culty in dissolving the drug in water, the mor­ Quezon governor Hon. Wilfredo Enverga, while Chitin: new facets of research. Science 212: phological deformities it caused to test animals, lamenting the usual financial problem that be­ 749-753 and the possible emergence of drug resistance sets most government-sponsored projects, says: Benjakul S, Sophanodora P. 1993. Chitosan pro­ due to inappropriate use. "While this is the present constraint, we are try­ duction from carapace and shell of black ti­ Mr. Pakingking holds a BS Medical Tech­ ing our best to interest outside parties to lend us ger shrimp ( Penaeus monodon ). AS EAN Food J. 8:145-148 nology degree from the University of Negros a hand." Das NG, Khan PA, Hossain Z. 1996. Chitin from Occidental - Recoletos (1990) and an MS Biol­ On the other hand, while aware of the fund­ the shell of two coastal portunid crabs of ogy from the University of the Philippines in ing concern, the Mandaragat fishers also feel Bangladesh. Indian J. Fish. 43:413-415 the Visayas (1998). — EG that advocacy and information dissemination Elson CM, Parsons GJ, Forgeron S (eds). Agri­ among their fellow fishers and other commu­ cultural and medical applications of N,0- nity residents should be intensified. Mr. carboxymethylchitosan, a derivative of shrimp S u p p ort Manzano emphasizes: "The more the people in processing wastes. Aquatech ‘96; Bull. our community learn that there is a better alter­ Aquacult. Assoc. Can. (96-4): 39-44 responsible native to illegal fishing, the m ore fish w ill there Harvey M, Bourget E, Gagne N. 1997. Spat settlement of the giant scallop, Placopecten be, and the better the chances for a sustained magellanicus (Gmelin, 1791), and other bi­ aquaculture livelihood for all of us." ###

38 SEAFDEC Asian Aquaculture Vol. XXI No. 4 August 1999