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KABASALAN, Zamboanga Sibugay—A small group of municipal
fishermen-turned-fish-cage operators in this town are
going big time with their innovative livelihood
projects, transforming their community into an
ecotourism destination with the support of the
Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).
Members
of the Kalugpungan sa Gagmay Mangingisda sa Concepcion (KGMC) are
planning to put up a seafood restaurant soon to promote
their barangay as an eco-tourism destination. Besides
creating additional employment, the initiative will also
empower people in the community.
Roberto
A. Ballon, KGMC chairman, said the restaurant will serve
cultured grouper fish, oyster or talaba and freshwater
crabs.
KGMC, or
the Small Fisherfolks Association of Concepcion, is
composed of 251 agrarian-reform beneficiaries belonging
to the Greenfields agrarian reform community.
Through
the help of the DAR-Western Mindanao Community
Initiative Project (WMCIP), KGMC’s 251 members who used
to be municipal fishermen made a complete turnaround, as
they started to culture talaba, catch alimango, then
later, invest in “high-end” fish-cage
operation—culturing maya-maya and various species of
grouper fish, legally.
“Before,
we earned less than P100 a day. Our fishing methods were
even illegal, considering we used nets that catch even
the small fishes. We know it is illegal, but we have no
choice. Through the DAR-WMCIP, we changed. Now, we are
fish-cage operators,” he said.
The
fishing method, locally called sudsod, is destructive
since it kills seagrass and the fishes’ natural habitat
in the coastal areas.
Now,
Ballon, who owns 12 floating fish cages, with his
P50,000 investment now earns P8,000 to P10,000 net, on
top of other sources of income such as culturing talaba
and catching alimango.
Ballon
boasts of receiving two national awards, including a
Presidential Award for sharing his talaba culture
technology to others. While others who culture talaba
use bamboo pole as tulos, or rope that they hang
underneath to allow talaba to grow, Ballon simply
scatters them in the mud.
The
talaba grow bigger and even taste better and juicier.
“I just
tried it. To my surprise, it worked. So why need to
invest to put up structures to culture them when they
grow in the mud?” he said.
KGMC
members have rights to a 17-hectare land situated in the
coasts in barangay Concepcion.
In 2001,
DAR, through the WMCIP, a United Nations-funded project
under its International Fund for Agricultural
Development Program, convinced them to help manage the
marine coastal resources and start their own livelihood
project, encouraging them to try fish-cage operation.
The
group has undergone various seminars to strengthen their
capacities, until members are confident enough to start
their own livelihood projects. Recognizing the big
demand for grouper fish, they agreed to culture the fish
variety.
Ballon
also organized KGMC, which now has more than two hundred
members.
“From 10
members, we now have 251 members. We are doing good
business,” he said.
DAR-WMCIP
provided KGMC financial support in the amount of
P150,000 for the net and fingerlings, including payment
for their training.
From six
floating cages when they started in 2001, there are now
a total of 42 fish cages in the area.
Fish-cage operations generate jobs, according to Ballon.
While
some of their members operate fish cages, others catch
fingerlings which they buy at P25 each. Within six
months, the grouper fish can be sold from P75 to P250
each, depending on the size and variety of the fish.
Ordinary
grouper fish, which weighs less than half a kilo each,
costs P65 each. However, those that weigh up to a kilo
cost P130 each.
A fish
cage can accommodate 200 fishes, with a 90-percent
survival rate, which is much higher than those that come
from hatcheries, according to Ballon.
They
also buy what he calls “scraps,” or caught fish that
cannot be sold because they are either too small or
damaged, at P15 a kilo.
Normally, he said, it will cost a fish-cage operator
P3,000 for every 10 feet by 10 feet fish floating cage
for the entire season.
To
protect their livelihood, KGMC volunteered to help
protect the marine coastal resources, including the
all-important bakawan or mangrove which they
planted. The bakawan serve as natural habitat and
protection from predator for young and small fishes.
“People
used to laugh at me, because they saw me planting
mangroves. They even teased me, saying they will be the
ones to cut them later when they mature,” he said.
Fortunately, the local government of Kabalasan passed a
resolution that provides permanent protection to the
mangrove forests in the coastal barangay, as well as the
entire town.
“We have
a tie-up with the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources, that’s why we can move freely. Otherwise, all
our livelihood projects here will not be possible,” he
said.
Mangrove
trees now thrive, resulting in other benefits, including
breeding freshwater crabs that could guarantee a P3,000
monthly income for every hard-working member.
“Lazy
people don’t get anything. But those who work hard earn
more than enough to feed themselves,” he said.
The
freshwater crabs are caught using traps with dried fish
as bait during high tide.
“It is
easy to catch those crabs. You just put the trap, put
some dried fish, and wait for the high tide. In the
morning, when the water subsides, you’ll have your
crabs,” he said.
Ballon
said since they have their own source of fresh seafood,
they conducted a study regarding the feasibility of
establishing their own restaurant to sustain their
livelihood.
So far,
KGMC has constructed 15 cottages which have started to
attract local tourists, who gave them the idea of
serving those fresh maya-maya or lapu-lapu that they
grow in fish cages, the talaba and those delicious
freshwater crabs.
“If
other seafood restaurants are making good business out
of the fish we sell to them, why can’t we? This way, we
can also help provide jobs not only to our families, but
other people in our barangay,” he said. |
