Marx Perfecto C. Garcia
Project Leader, BFAR-CAR, Phillippines
Title: Fishing Gears and Practices Used in the Amburayan River, Benguet
Biography
Biography: Marx Perfecto C. Garcia
Abstract
The Amburayan River is one of the main river systems in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) covering the provinces of Benguet, La Union and Ilocos Sur. Aside from being a tourism site, it is the primary water source for agricultural lands along the stretch of the river. It also serves as a fishing ground to the residents because of its potential as habitat to native, endemic, migratory and indigenous fish and other aquatic organisms. Being a pathway to native, endemic and migratory species in the region, protecting the Amburayan River ecosystem and conserving its ecological integrity enhances its productivity. The assessment of fishing gears and practices used including the fish species caught by these gears is important in the management of the resources. This study on fishing gears and practices was done in three municipalities in Benguet namely; Atok, Kapangan and Kibungan. Fishing gears and practices were determined through interview with the locals in focus group discussions and direct observation during fishing. This study revealed that there are different fishing gears and practices being employed along the Amburayan River. Most of which are traditional knowledge-based and used depending on the season and location of fishing area. Fishermen create and modify their gears according to the river structure, time of the year and target species. There are ten fishing gears classified into falling gear (cast net or tabukol), lift net (balchew/sagada), hook and line (banniit), fish traps (apayaw/apajaw, bagekbek/gubo, bukatot and salliang), drive-in net (kalaskas) and miscellaneous gears (spear gun and asar). There are also five fishing practices and methods (sarep/salep, sawil, tarangutong/tunuton/punupon, sillag, lu-luy) observed and two gear accessories (alat and salgat) were recorded. Conducting regular assessment of the gears and species of the Amburayan River would help in the formulation of policies for conserving the river ecosystem.