Fishing Practices of the Community Folks and Sea Productivity in San Jose, Antique, Philippines
Many fisher folks all over the world still use traditional, relatively low-tech approachesto catch fish. This is because fishing is largely for subsistence and consumptionpurposes. The town of San Jose is a 3rd class municipality in the Province ofAntique, Philippines. According to census, it has a population of 48,261 and 9,639households. It used to be known as San Jose de Buenavista. It is the capital municipalityof Antique. The source of livelihood still remains to be primarily derived fromfishing. This study therefore determined the fishing practices of the fisher folks inSan Jose Antique in relation to sea productivity. The study answered the followingquestions: 1) Is there enough supply of fish in the coastal waters of San Jose Antique?2) What are the techniques used to catch fish? 3) Is there any incidence of illegal fishcatching in the area? and 4)Does the government provide fish catching educationand fish advocacy along this area? This study is a field research or fieldwork. Thus,the researchers did a collection of information outside the workplace setting. Interviewswere conducted to gather and provide data that will address the questions. Resultsshowed that fisher folks in the coastal areas of San Jose Antique can still catchenough supply of fish. They opt to catch fish through the use of spears (pamana),nets, and hooks (taga). Moreover, fisher folks have used commercial fishing boatswith advanced gears for locating fish. Data on the incidence of illegal fishing andthe role of the government to provide fish catching education and advocacy in thearea through memoranda, and barangay campaigns through meetings of barangayofficials were also noted.Keywords: Fishing, fisher folks, fishing practices, field work, interview, sea productivity,San Jose, Antique, Philippines