A Stt4jp of People's Powey: P BANGUS FRY CATCHERS in CONTROL of PRODUCTION AMARYLLIS T

"A Stt4jp of People's Powey: p BANGUS FRY CATCHERS In CONTROL of PRODUCTION AMARYLLIS T. TORRES - - ! 64 U flj M 5OF.JtH Wora -- eJ I -Th * t7 t 'II I rN A Study of Peop[e's Power: BANGUS FRY CATCHERS In CONTROL of PRODUCTION by Amaryllis T. Torres and Rosita B. Sia EDITOR'S NOTE: I. INTRODUCTION This slim volume actually contains two independent studies in one, both tackling A. Fish as Food the problems of the bangus fry catchers of Antique. The first, written by Dr. Amaryllis Torres and Rosita Sia, is a comprehensive study of the Bangus Fry Industry, focusing Seafoods, especially fish, have traditionally been a major source of protein fr on the various aspects of the production processes and their efforts in organizing Filipinos. In 1983, 61% of families all over the Philippines consumed first class fish themselves for self-reliance. The second part of this book is a study of the marketing (Manto, V.A. and H. Tohoh, 1986). In 1979, the per capita consumption of fish was system of the Bangus Fry Industry; written by PROCESS researchers Anna Kristina 33.5 kg., as compared to 23 kilos ofiivestock products.' By 1989-1 990, it iestimated U. Goño and Kimberly Wylie, examining the marketing process as well as ventures into that Filipinos will consume 41 kilos of fish, per capita, while only 26 kg. 'of meat will the prospects of the entire .industry. Considering the similarity of the approaches and be used as food (Mm. of Agric., 1980). the concern of both studies, we found it fit to put together this two pioneering studies The popularity of fish and fish products as food may be traced to their in a single volume for the benefit of all concerned with the plight of the bangus fry abundance in these islands and, consequently, to their relatively cheaper prices in catchers is Antique. comparison to meat and poultry (Kent, G., 1984). Of the various species of fish, milkfish or bangus is one of the most popular, thus making it a major food source. As such, milkfish is one of the most widely-cultured fish this country, comprising . I about 40 percent of total aquaculture production (Goco, N.D.). Bangus (scientific name chanos chanos) is essentially a marine species, but easily adapts itself to marine and freshwater conditions. It is widely distributed in the tropic and subtropic areas of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The adult bangus (the sabalo) spends much of its time in the sea, but larval stages migrate from the spawning grounds to the coastal zones (The Philippines Recommends for Bangus, 1983). The culture of bangus, therefore, begins with the collection of its fry from "the wild" - the coastal' areas where they are found in great quantities. B. The Fry Industry in Antique Antique is one of the five provinces comprising Western Visayas. Located in the westernmost part of Panay island, it is bordered by Cuyo Pass and the Western Visayas Sea —areas 'deemed to be among the richest fishing grounds in this country. The coastal areas of Antique, moreover, are known to be abundant in milkfish, and about half of all families living along its shores engage in fry gathering (PROCESS, 1986a). Despite the economic dependence of municipal fishermen on fry gathering, Published by the Southeast Asian Forum on Development Alternatives. 1988. however, this resource has 'generally been under the control of non-fishermen them- 3 selves - the individual concessionaires who have been awarded municipal rights over C. Organizing Bangus Fry Catchers designated fry grounds. Under this arrangement, the gatherers sell the collected fry to the concessionaires, who determine the value of the stock per thousand units. The The fishermen in Antique are not ignorant of the reasons for their unabated latter then sell the fry to dealers or nursery pond operators for later trading to milkfish hardships. In the past year (1986), groups of fry gatherers in parts of Antique have pond operators. banded' together into Bangus Fry Catchers (BFCs) Organizations to convince the Given these onerous conditions, the price paid to the gatherers usually represents municipal councils to grant them direct rights to the fry grounds, rather than work only 20%-50%of what the fry dealer or fishpond operator pays the concessionaire. under individual concessionaires. In this manner, the fry gatherers in Belison, Hamtic, Thus, fry gatherers have remained impoverished, with little or no control over the Barbasa, Culasi, San Jose, andPatnongon negbtiated to be granted permits to collect pricing and distribution of this vital resource for aquaculture. fry in designated fry zones. The organization of the BFCs was facilitated by the community workers of PROCESS, which has been working among the farmers and fishermen families of Antique for the past several years. Through PROCESS, the fry catchers were able to gain a broader perspective concerning the laws affecting them, given the chance to reflect on their situation and to trace the roots of their subsistence living. Eventually, the fry gatherers decided a better life may be possible by trying to work as a collective for the right to gather fry from the coastal zones, rather than relying on the payments given by the concessionaires for their collected stock. There have been few experiences documented in the past decade wherein fry gatherers themselves have been given the right to the fry grounds, either as community groups or as cooperatives (PCARR, 1975). Thus, the successful efforts in Antique to form the fry collectors into BFCs is a significant and rare occurrence. Yet, it is the ideal I situation for the municipal fishermen because it enables them to have direct control of their productive resource, and they may have the chance to dictate the price of the fry stock, rather than be at the mercy of the concessionaires. At the same time, this system of production will eventually redound to the welfare of the larger population of Filipino fish eaters, because the elimination of the middleman (in this case the concessionaire) may help bring down the price of bangus, making it a more affordable protein source. Despite the laudable efforts of PROCESS to facilitate the organization of BFCs, the long-term impact of this alternative mode of fry production remains to be seen. The host of social, political, economic, and even cultural variables in the local setting may work\for or against the new system of fry collection. Moreover, the - linkage between production and marketing of the fry remains an important factor to assess. 4 5 Influence Factors on Organizing: 1.1 Social and cultural factors: - past experience in organizing - personal circumstances of the fry gatherers - kinship and community relations - awareness and understanding of the system of fry production, and its implications on personal circumstances - presence and action of support groups 1.2 Politico-legal factors: II. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM government plans, policies and programs on the fishing industry - relationship between the organized BFCs and the local govern- A. Statement of the Problem ment - linkages between the organizing fry gatherers and The general objective of this study is to assess the potential impacts of a - community power structure community-based system of fry production which has the following features: - paws, ordinances, and legislations on fry gathering and other 1) The fry gatherers are organized as a group to bid for their own gathering aspects of aquaculture privileges within designated municipal fry zones; - civilian-military relations 2) in lieu of a concession system, the, municipality employs a permits system or an open-access system for fry gathering; 1.3 Economic factors: 3) the marketing of collected fry is undertaken by the gatherers themselves - present income derived from fry gathering and the intercession of concessionaires. potential income from community-based fry gathering - other household sources of income The specific objectives include: - expected volume of fry to be gathered 1) to. identify social, cultural, economic and political factors which affect or - price of fry are related to the implementation of a community-based production demand for fry system; 2) to identify and predict potential economic and social impacts of a commu- 2 Predicted impacts of a Community-Based Fry Gathering Model nity-based fry production model, especially on the fry gatherers them- 2.1 Economic Effects: selves, their families and communities; - increased employment for fry gatherers 3) to project the economic and social impacts of a centralized marketing - income generation system for bangus fry. - income distribution - improved far.mgatepr'ices B. Framework for Analysis - elimination of pricing control by concessionaires - conservation of fry grounds It is hypothesized that the organization of bangus fry catchers into productive associations is a process influenced by a host of factors and circumstances in the 2.2 Politico-legal impact: enveloping community. In turn, collective activity and organized decision-making - popular participation in decision for production and marketing among the fry catchers are expected to affect the lives of the actors themselves, their of fry families, and their respective municipalities. - reform, repeal, amendments to, laws, ordinances and other In this study, the following sets of variables are predicted to be related to a regulatory procedures concern ngJ fry production community-based bangus fry production model (see also Figure 1): - re-alignment of community power structures 6 7 - closer linkages between BFCs and other community support groups- closer linkages between the BFCs and the local government 2.3 Social and Cultural Impact: - improved awareness and understanding of the fry production system - improved leadership and mobilization skills among local leaders - improved access to social services Ill. BACKGROUND LITERATURE - improved technical knowhowon fry collection A. Community Organizing as Development Strategy C. Data Collections Strategies The development of society hinges on the extent to which its collective 1.

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