‘Agamang war’ in Pugaro resolved
FOR more than two decades now, every year come September to December, an agamang war rages in the waters of Barangay Pugaro in Dagupan City.
Acknowledged as the top producer of high-value fish like lapu-lapu and talakitok, Pugaro is also known to be the “birthing station” of Acetes, a genus of prawns, locally called agamang, which is used in the production of shrimp paste, one of the most popular products of Pangasinan.
The abundance of agamang, also marketed as dried seafood, during the “ber” months attracts both small and medium-scale fishermen, triggering the long-standing dispute between Samahan ng Maliliit na Mangingisda (SMM) and Ulopan na Sumisigay ed Dagupan City (USUDA) over who has a right to trawl the resource-rich shores.
Last week, the city government, through City Agriculture Officer Emma Molina, finally helped resolve the conflict.
Molina, joined by other city hall official Albertini de Guzman and Butch Gutierrez, initiated a dialogue last September 7 between representatives of the SMM headed by Rodrigo Estrada and USUDA led by its President Ronaldo Cayabyab.
COVENANT
After a three-hour dialogue, a Covenant of Mutual Agreement (CMA) was reached to finally resolve the protracted between the two groups.
“Seasonal lang naman po itong alamang…kaya’t sana pagbigyan naman nila kaming mga malilit na mangingisda,” Estrada said.
Cayabyab, for his part, said, “para sa lahat naman itong dagat, kaya’t kami ay taos-pusong makikibahagi sa prosesong ito upang magkaroon ng matiwasay na kasunduan. “
A brief dialogue was facilitated by Butch Gutierrez of the mayor’s office and Maritime Capt. Sison. (CIO)
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