Fishing villagers doing it tough

Weekender
TRAVEL

CALAPADAYAN villagers in the Philippines are just like other coastal people in South East Asia and Pacific regions who are concerned about overfishing.
And their rich fish and marine stocks like yellow fin tuna, blue marlin, squids and octopus is dwindling because fishermen outside of Subic Bay are also competing with them in their traditional fishing ground. Their livelihoods are not only threatened by domestic invasion but international level too as their fishing ground is in one of the world’s most hotly disputed international maritime zones –South China Sea – where they have also to compete with large Taiwanese and Vietnamese commercial fishing vessels.
They also have to confront the Chinese navy and coast guards in this body of water which is now the subject of a diplomatic row between the Philippines and Chinese governments.
Calapadayan which is about 164km from Manila city, the Philippines capital, is a fishing village with about 10,000 villagers in the Zambales Province in the Subic Bay.
“We have been fishing for generations,” fisherman Tirso Atiga says.
“So fishing is our livelihood. My father was a fisherman and so was my grandfather. We don’t know any other jobs but fishing only. But I think that traditional skills will not pass on to our children as they are not interested now in fishing. They are mostly into social media like Facebook. Well, generally they are more interested in state-of-the-art information and communications technology applications and devices and getting career jobs in IT,” Atiga continues.

A family at Calapadayan village in Subic Bay, Philippines
Villagers relaxing at Calapadayan village in Subic Bay, Philippines.
Members of the Calapadayan Fishermen’s Multipurpose Cooperative with president Tirso Atiga (second from left).

“But during our fathers and grandfathers’ times, fishing was good. There was a huge stock of fish like yellow fin tuna, blue marlins, squids and octopus. These are the fish species that we usually catch in the Subic Bay. And our wives and mothers take these fish and sell them at the market to get money.
“And if they catch bigger tuna we go out to the neighbouring provinces like Pagasinan or even to Manila to sell them. And with the money we buy garden root crops like taro, banana and household items. In fact almost everything. Our lives depend on fishing.
“But now these stocks are dwindling away and it seems that there will be none in the next two years. We are now competing with large Vietnamese and Taiwanese commercial fishing boats. And they are using many solar lights and technology to attract and catch tonnes of big tuna fish.
“So we cannot catch them anymore. Now it is the yellow fin tuna season because it is the typhoon season and we go out and fish for three nights. We have to catch fish worth at least 7000 pesos (about K457) so that 4000 pesos (about K261) go to the fuel and other expense and we get 3000 pesos (about K196) as profit. Before in 2000 and beyond we usually go and fish for one night to catch stocks that fetches a similar price. But now we stay three nights and if we’re lucky we catch big fish. Also before we fish close by. Now we outside 50 nautical miles out to fish. But then Vietnamese, Taiwanese and Chinese are also fishing there.
Restricted
“Last January, we were joined by other fish men from the Bay and we have a big group through which we protest against Chinese for restricting us to fish in the Philippines waters in the South China, especially at Scarborough Shoal passage. That passage is five miles wide and big fish come through it from the open sea. But then the Chinese are now fishing there and they are preventing us to go there.
Atiga says because of such issues affecting their livelihood, they have formed the Calapadayan Fishermen’s Multipurpose Cooperative in 1994 which he leads as president.
“We have 42 members of the society. We have this cooperative to fight for our rights and also to help us manage our daily livelihood. Due to the dwindling stocks it affects our financial situation. And so this cooperative allows members to get small loans.
“We sell our fish and contribute 10 per cent or above of our earnings to the cooperative. And we are also pushing for the government to solve the diplomatic row with the Chinese over the disputed Scarborough Shoal Passage in the South China Sea.
“And we hope our Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources comes up with much more effective fishing polices so that our stocks can be managed by restricting the Taiwanese and Vietnamese fishing boats from fishing here.
“In the meantime we face a bleak future.”

Fishermen anchoring their fishing boats at Calapadayan village in in Subic Bay. – Nationalpics by CLIFFORD FAIPARIK