SAN FABIAN– A town notorious for illegal fishing activities is slowly learning a more sustainable means of livelihood from the sea.

A project being undertaken by the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI), in cooperation with Rabon Fisherfolk Association, introduces the modified fyke net design for small-scale fisherfolks.

The modified fyke net design is similar to but cheaper than the lambaklad which is already widely-used around the country.

Maritess Chuico, aquaculturist of NFRDI and project leader, and Marco Perez, senior aquaculturist, explained that their experimental project, consisting of four units, costs only around P100,000 to P150,000 as compared to the lambaklad, which requires P2 million to P2.5 million per unit.

The project in barangay Rabon also serves as an experimental research, the results of which will determine possible replication in other parts of the country.

Dr. Westly Rosario, NFRDI executive director, said they chose the coastal town of San Fabian and Rabon in particular as the pilot area for this project mainly to address the reported rampant illegal fishing activities in the area.

“Maybe it’s about time that we teach the fishermen of San Fabian the legal way of fishing,” he told newsmen.

In addition, based on the bathometric survey conducted by the NFRDI, this town has the deepest part within the Lingayen Gulf, considered as a highly-pressured fishing area.

The project is also intended to make a census of the fish species caught in the Lingayen Gulf and determine the real status of the marine life.

The modified fyke net design is a passive and stationary fishing gear with non-destructive effect to the environment as it uses large meshed-size nets.

The gear is about 100 meters long, placed about one kilometer from shore with a depth of 10 to 15 meters.

During the experimental stage, the NFRDI is estimating a fish catch of 25 kilograms per day for the fishing association with a sharing scheme of 70% of the marketed catch for the association as labor services and participation to the project, 20% for the project’s maintenance and operation expenses, and 10% for the local government unit.

After the project period, the gears will be turned over to the fishing association, directly benefitting around 40 families.

With proper maintenance, the net has an average lifespan of seven to 10 years.#

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