Preparing to fish... Between two and four in the morning a local fisherman prepares his gear, takes his breakfast, seeks guidance and protection from the Patrocinio - the patron saints - dresses in warm clothes and leaves his home.
He walks to his boat and with family and fellow fishers he goes out to sea. Red flags on bamboo poles and Styrofoam buoys mark their drift nets which they set up in the fishing ground.
Coming back to shore As he heads out to sea, other fishers return. They have been at sea for most of the night. Their sacks are filled with fishing nets. The catch has not been good for one group, which barely fills half a pail. Another group fared slight
When out at sea, they leave their nets in the fishing grounds and move to a different area for hook and line and spear fishing to catch bigger fish. They have caught large sandy-bottom dwelling big-eyes and a large dolphinfish with the hook and line. Wive
Drying and mending nets... At the end of every fishing trip, fishers hang their nets out to dry, pick out debris and mend any holes. Nets used by small fishers can range between 50 to 200 meters. The legal size of the mesh by law is three inches. Some fis
Many fishers and their families also have supplemental forms of income like raising livestock and gardening. Livestock can include goats, pigs, chickens and other domestic animals. Fishers also have pets that they care for and keep around for companionshi
Fishers, like most people, value the time they spend with their families.
Fishers need time to spend with family and friends simply to have a good time eating, drinking, smoking and singing karaoke. These get-togethers occur at local bars, sari-sari store, or eateries. Special occasions call for lechon (roast pig) and puso (ric
RARE Conservation Fellow Sheryll Tesch wanted to find out what it was like to be part of a fishing community in the Philippines. She figured the best way to get something genuinely authentic was to take herself out of the picture and simply give the camera to the community. Here's the result...
Keywords:
culture
