ALAMINOS CITY —Fishermen in this city can now look forward to having a bountiful catch of fish to sustain their livelihood with the installation of 35 units of payao last Sept. 10 along the Hundred Islands National Park here.

Payao (payaw) is a fish aggregating device (FAD) that also serves as a marker for a safe fishing zone.

Arceli Talania, city agriculturist, said the 35 units were in addition to the existing 15 units previously given to the city by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

Talania said payao is made of big plastic drums that serve as floaters where big ropes are tied to a cemented anchor below to the coastal water to keep them steady in place.

The payao has coconut fronds attached to the ropes to host algae as food for the fish.  In principle, small fishes will be attracted and feed on them, and they in turn, will draw big fishes to the area, providing opportunities for bountiful catch, she said.

Talania said Mayor Arthur Celeste thought of payao to help the local fishermen easily access fishing ground near them.

“They no longer need to go away to fish. With this, they will have sufficient income as they can fish anytime here,” she said,

The payaos are under the care of fisherfolk associations, barangay councils of Telbang, Pandan-Victoria and Task Force Isla, she said.

She said the BFAR validators for the Malinis at Masaganang Karagatan project were amazed when they saw big schools of fish in areas where payaos were installed.

In a Facebook post of Celeste, it read: “Payaw,” is a Visayan term for artificial fish sanctuary, in ordinary fisherman’s term, these fish aggregates serve as “resting” place of fishes where “shades” are available.

Today, the additional 35 units of payao are installed within the 100-meter prohibitive fishing distance from the islands, within the perimeter of the Hundred Islands National Park. (Philstar wire service)

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