CAUAYAN, Negros Occidental—Several fishermen are now reaping the fruits of their labor. They now have more fish to catch and their partnership with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) helps them make ends meet in times of natural calamities.
Mary Ann Cordilla, president of the Caliling Environment-Friendly Production Association, said since 2012, they have been in partnership with BFAR through the Philippine National Aquasilviculture Program.
The group’s 47 members, all based in Barangay Caliling, Cauayan, earn by helping rehabilitate mangrove forests. Under the partnership, they are also tapped as guardians of mangrove forests. The group now engages in culturing crabs and maintains a small cage in Danjugan Island.
Speaking in Tagalog, Cordilla said the mangrove forest protected them against the impact of Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) in November 2013.
“In other areas, the damage was severe. In our town, as well as other areas with mangrove forests, it was not as bad,” she said.
Under the BFAR program, she said their group was assigned to rehabilitate 5 hectares, which they successfully planted with 6,000 propagules in 2012. The following year, they were assigned another 5 hectares and planted 37,000 propagules, for which they are paid P6.50 for every propagule planted.
Next year, she said the area assigned to them would require them plant 75,000 propagules in 10 hectares. She also said that maintaining a healthy mangrove forest helps make fishing more productive. “We don’t need to go far to catch fish. Ordinarily, whenever we go out fishing, we earn P450 a day.”
Randy Quezon, president of Linahon Sustenance Fishing Association, said their group benefitted from the program, having been assigned to rehabilitate two hectares in 2012, 48 hectares in 2013. Next year, he said they are looking forward to planting mangrove in more areas.
“The income from planting mangroves under the program help a lot. As fishermen, we go out to fish every day and when the weather doesn’t permit us, we do not need to worry because our group earns from mangrove rehabilitation,” he said.
He also said because of the healthy mangrove forests they maintain, fish such as gusaw, sapsap and crabs called kasag thrive in the municipal fishing ground.