Philippine E-Journals

Fishing Practices of the Community Folks and Sea Productivity in San Jose, Antique, Philippines

Rolando A. Alimen | Ma. Cecilia D. Alimen | Cicero D. Ortizo | Ronald S. Baynosa | Vicente O. Corpes

Discipline: Natural Sciences, Fisheries

 

Abstract:

Many fisher folks all over the world still use traditional, relatively low-tech approaches to catch fish. This is because fishing is largely for subsistence and consumption purposes. The town of San Jose is a 3rd class municipality in the Province of Antique, Philippines. According to census, it has a population of 48,261 and 9,639 households. It used to be known as San Jose de Buenavista. It is the capital municipality of Antique. The source of livelihood still remains to be primarily derived from fishing. This study therefore determined the fishing practices of the fisher folks in San Jose Antique in relation to sea productivity. The study answered the following questions: 1) Is there enough supply of fish in the coastal waters of San Jose Antique? 2) What are the techniques used to catch fish? 3) Is there any incidence of illegal fish catching in the area? and 4)Does the government provide fish catching education and fish advocacy along this area? This study is a field research or fieldwork. Thus, the researchers did a collection of information outside the workplace setting. Interviews were conducted to gather and provide data that will address the questions. Results showed that fisher folks in the coastal areas of San Jose Antique can still catch enough supply of fish. They opt to catch fish through the use of spears (pamana), nets, and hooks (taga). Moreover, fisher folks have used commercial fishing boats with advanced gears for locating fish. Data on the incidence of illegal fishing and the role of the government to provide fish catching education and advocacy in the area through memoranda, and barangay campaigns through meetings of barangay officials were also noted.