Ever wondered how the fish you ate this morning where harvested?
One night while I was staying in Dahican Beach in Mati City, Kuya Jun Plaxa, my host, floated an idea of joining the fishermen for a night of fishing. The adventurous spirit in me arose and by 10:00pm of that same day I found myself on board a big fishing vessel that will go out after midnight to Mayo Bay for some fishing expedition.
[I already experienced being Rice Terraces Farming and being a Copra Farmer for a day]
The vessel was silent when we get on and I thought there are only 4-5 people on board. Because most of the work will start by 3:00am, I opted to take some nap on top of the machinery where the “makinista,” the one in-charge of the machinery, directed me to lay. For an hour, I was trying to find my sleep while the sea continuously rocked the boat.
Makinista and a crew sleeping on board
A little bit past 3:00am, the cook “maestro kusinero” started making fire to cook rice corn, adobong pusit and tinolang isda. The squids and fish were just given to us by some fishermen on small boats whom we met our way to the deep sea.
Maestro Kusinero preparing the food
By 3:30am the rest of the crew came out and ate breakfast. We ate together on two big drum covers “buddle fight” style. It was culture shock, the tinolang isda and adodong pusit where mixed together with the corn rice as everyone picked his food with bare hands “kinamot”. In their local term, “nagsagul na and sud-an ug kan-on.”
Early breakfast with fisher folks, around 3:30am
As the dawn wass breaking we headed to where the small forward boat located the school of fish and they started to lower the nets, encircling the area where the fishes were. Then someone from the crew dove to fix the net lock with the help of a weight to close the net below. He was called the “maestro busero” or the master diver.
Lowering the net
Lowering the weight
Maestro Busero or Master Diver fixes the net
We waited for a while and when the sun began to rise, some of the crew started to drag the net towards the boat. By this time, small boats began gathering around the net they were called “kanaway.” Later they will ask for some share too (even though they didn’t do anything), which is part of fishing tradition so they say. How generous Filipinos are talaga!
Tatlong Kargador dragging the nets back to the boat
Kanaway waiting for the harvest
One of the kanaways. He went aboard too and we had a quick chat about island life
After some time, some fishes stuck on the net where collected in one place. Before long, one dove “busero” to check if the net is holding. Minute by minute the net was becoming heavier as kilos of fishes began to surface out of the water, alive and trying to fly back to the sea. The fishermen were already smiling as they continued pulling the net, they are called “kargador” or the ones in-charge of the nets and carrying the ice boxes once on shore.
Preparing for the great harvest
A “busero” checks out the catch from down under, about 40ft.
Some of crew get the unusual catch like the “Saguksok” with its skin easily removed, they say, perfect for for “kinilaw.”
Saguksok stripped with skin ready for kinilaw
After the “kanaways” where given they share, the crew got some of the spoil too then the rest were placed into ice boxes to be sold in the market.
The harvest is then scooped with the use of a smaller net
Placing the fish in the ice box
I was given my share too, more than four kilos of fish. I believe they were mostly “matangbaka” because their eyes are quite big for their size and looks like the eyes of cows.
Boasting my share from the harvest
After the division among them, they fixed their net for the next day’s fishing expedition.
Other crew get their share from the big harvest
Fixing the net for tomorrow
It was a great experience joining these fisher folks and they invited me to join them again the next day. If not for my flight back to Manila the next day, I would have joined them again.
Photo op with the fishing vessel crew
I thank Mang Tibor, the “timunil,” the one in-charge of the operation and the captain, “maestro kapitan” for allowing me on board and experience the life of a fisherman for just a night.
The one in-charge of everything here, Mang Tibor, called the “Timunil”
Maestro Kapitan, salamat kaayo!
The experience gave me a realization of “bayanihan” in the sea and how hard it is for our fishermen to get some fish. Now I value more than ever every piece of fish I eat.
This post of you James brings me back old memories when I used to go with my father fishing. Yes, my father was a fisherman until the entire family moved here in Iligan.
I can still recall how nervous I am when I went with my father into fishing one night and the waves were bigger than a two storey house and how was the feeling when our small boat was on top of it, when my father commanded me to help paddling so that we will not capsized, but all I can do that time is hold on to the boat shivering and teary-eyed.
thanks for sharing your story alex. grabe talaga yung buhay ng mangingisda noh? sabi nung anak ng mangingisda na naka-usap ko. yung tatay ko di namin alam if makakauwi pa ng buhay after magpa-laot. yung mga na-ngongompra lang ang kumikita palagi
Actually, toto-o yan. Before I was born and my parents were just newly wedds, my father went to fishing for a week sakay nung bangka nila with his uncle and cousins…then nabalitaan ng mother ko na nabangga yong bangka nila ng isang bapor dun sa laot. My mother really thought my father will no longer come home after that, but he did came home after two weeks alive. Since then, hindi na siya sumasama sa matagalang fishing…yong ginagawa niya yong paminsan-minsanan naalang na pagfifishing. yon nga sinasama ako, but after nong nangyari yong lamapas two-storey yong waves na naexperience ko..never na akong sumama sa laot pag gabi. Kasi gabi yon wala akong makita kundi waves lang ang dilim at basang-basa ako sa ulan, so I really thought I’ll die that night…basta ginawa ko nun, hawak lang ako sa banka at pumikit habang lumilimas nung mga tubig na pumaapasok sa bangka kasi pag napuno yong banka tata-ob kami.
Wow!This is one humbling and cool experience! I want to do the same whenever I get to visit other place to be just like a local.
yes cez, i learned a lot from this fishermen and i appreciate more how hard they work.
i love slow travel. hope you can experience this too someday.