Download - The Poor Fish Farmer's Perspective - the current sorry state of things and how we can help
State of the Nation: Fishing
A family affair
Done like the way it was for millenniums
Manpower intensive
State of the Nation: Fishing
Hoping
Anticipating
High expectations
State of the Nation: Fishing
No luck
These are plain small fry
It must be the holes in the net that we failed to sew for some reason:Financial
Time
Skill flight or brain drain
State of the Nation: Fishing
Not only a case of child labor but a baby already earning his toil much too early than normal.
State of the Nation: Fishing
What if the catch ends-up as a big ZERO?
The PH coastal fishing has long been damaged from abusive fishing methods:Dynamite fishing
Manual and mindless destruction of corals and mangroves as natural breeding grounds
Careless abuse of catching fish-fry (juvenile fish)
State of the Nation: Fishing
What if there's a dae-te (fish migrants) as locals of Batangas would call it?
State of the Nation: Fishing
Would it still be just a family affair?
This event occurred in a progressive fishing village in Batangas, Philippines on March 2014
State of the Nation: Fishing
The news has spread like wild-fire.
State of the Nation: Fishing
Within minutes, the crowd grew from a few 10 fisher folks and by-standers to 50 plus.
State of the Nation: Fishing
Hungry warm bodies are all over:Hoping
Anticipating
With High expectations
State of the Nation: Fishing
Alas, each went to their own devices earning, owning and catching fish without regard to the main family or team that initiated the trap.
State of the Nation: Fishing
Everybody toils to have a share of the catch
State of the Nation: Fishing
Even complete strangers and tourists are ignoring the fact that they don't deserve to take out of respect to the main fisher group.
It was a huge catch of about 200 to 400 Kg. The by-standers and lookers are not done yet with their loot.
State of the Nation: Fishing
A child watches the small loot of his father, when cooked simply in vinegar and soy sauce becomes simply as a basic dish we all know as Adobo which can already complete their day's meal.
State of the Nation: Fishing
Finishing-up the stray catch.
State of the Nation: Fishing
At the core of the catch is the net's main pocket containing about 200Kgs of Tamban
State of the Nation: Fishing
A gesture of victory
A rare catch of the week on a bright full-moon was won!
State of the Nation: Fishing
Even with their experience, the observer recognizes their lack of tools and readiness to handle a good catch with care. Retaining it's freshness is their second struggle.
State of the Nation: Fishing
The packaging is right, but they did not considered a way to preserve it for the buyer.
State of the Nation: Fishing
The observer managed to purchase the part of the catch (80Kg) at P25 per Kg.
Have cooked the 5 Kgs right away which was scrumptious.
The experiment of bringing the catch to Manila however failed. It was sold at a losing P30 per Kg because the fish eyes were already red in color.
State of the Nation: Fishing
But what if the Gov't invests on freeze-dry facilities in each major fishing town/municipality that will allow these farmers the capability to extend the freshness of their produce so that those who are deep-pocketed in the Metropolis can enjoy these types of fresh fish? The immediate beneficiaries will be the small farmers and not the big-time middlemen.
What if there are canning and smoke house facilities as well?
What if there is a ready facility for packaging?
And finally, what if there is a means to sell them directly to each and everybody's dining table in the Metro?
Where have all the money gone, gone to pockets of the few elite ones everyone. When will we ever learn?