Christitu Decena used to be the boat captain of Joraya Fishing Industry, a commercial fishing company that dominated fish catch in the municipal waters surrounding Lupon, Davao Oriental.
He earned no less than P30,000 every month through the dynamite-fishing method the company indulged in to ensure abundant fish catch.
However, each time he came home bringing enough seafood for his family he would also see the sorry economic situation of his neighbors whose form of living was small-scale fishing.
“ Dagku ko ug kita apan nakita usab nako nga makaluluoy gyud ang akong mga siilingan nga mga gagmayng mangingisda. Wala silay makuhang saktong isda kay nahurot na sa mga dagkung commercial fishing companies.” (I earned much but I could see the pitiful state of my neighbors who were smalltime fishermen. They could not get enough catch because of the monopoly big fishing companies).
From the start, he was aware that commercial fishing and the method of fishing used has been killing the livelihood of ordinary fisherfolks and their families. Christitu, no matter how he justified his job, had sleepless nights knowing that he contributed to the dearth of fish catches and the suffering of his fellow fishermen.
This prompted him to resign as a boat captain and devote most of his time doing volunteer work for the Lupon Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council. It is the body created by virtue of Executive Order 240 to help the government with its role as recommendatory and co-management body in achieving sustainable use of coastal and marine resources.
In 2000, he left Joraya Fishing and decided to work on his own. He then allotted time to join the other council members hold their regular pulong-pulong sa barangay where they explained to every fisherman the dangers of dynamite fishing and other illegal methods.
Christitu is also among the volunteer encoders and enumerators when the council implemented the Fish Catch Monitoring and Database System. Fishermen in the municipality were asked the volume of their fish catch, the fish species caught, and their value.
The information generated from this server and database system was used as basis for a more responsive policy and fisheries management governance.
He is also among those who encourage students, professionals, and other sectors in the community to be more involved in environmental protection by way of planting mangrove in identified Mangrove Protection Areas of the MFARMC.
From P30,000 monthly income, Christitu supports his family with a meager income from fish catch sales after he left the commercial fishing company. Nevertheless, he also started living guilt-free. He knows that in exchange for the large income from illegal ways is a happier life for his family which makes him proud.
He realized that small-scale fishers have started to improve their income after commercial fishing vessels were banned from encroaching into identified areas of municipal waters.
Other fishermen have also witnessed the changes in marine conditions when people started practicing good fishing methods. More dolphins have been sighted in municipal waters and the sighting has become a crowd-drawer, especially for tourists.
MFARMC is one of the highly-recognized councils in the locality of Lupon, Davao Oriental as an organization that helps the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) catch illegal fishers and undertake information and education drive among fisherfolks of the town.
The BFAR has recognized the active efforts of this MFARMC and hopes to replicate such effort in other towns and cities in the region. [PIA 11/Mai Gevera-Macapagat]
He earned no less than P30,000 every month through the dynamite-fishing method the company indulged in to ensure abundant fish catch.
However, each time he came home bringing enough seafood for his family he would also see the sorry economic situation of his neighbors whose form of living was small-scale fishing.
“ Dagku ko ug kita apan nakita usab nako nga makaluluoy gyud ang akong mga siilingan nga mga gagmayng mangingisda. Wala silay makuhang saktong isda kay nahurot na sa mga dagkung commercial fishing companies.” (I earned much but I could see the pitiful state of my neighbors who were smalltime fishermen. They could not get enough catch because of the monopoly big fishing companies).
From the start, he was aware that commercial fishing and the method of fishing used has been killing the livelihood of ordinary fisherfolks and their families. Christitu, no matter how he justified his job, had sleepless nights knowing that he contributed to the dearth of fish catches and the suffering of his fellow fishermen.
This prompted him to resign as a boat captain and devote most of his time doing volunteer work for the Lupon Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council. It is the body created by virtue of Executive Order 240 to help the government with its role as recommendatory and co-management body in achieving sustainable use of coastal and marine resources.
In 2000, he left Joraya Fishing and decided to work on his own. He then allotted time to join the other council members hold their regular pulong-pulong sa barangay where they explained to every fisherman the dangers of dynamite fishing and other illegal methods.
Christitu is also among the volunteer encoders and enumerators when the council implemented the Fish Catch Monitoring and Database System. Fishermen in the municipality were asked the volume of their fish catch, the fish species caught, and their value.
The information generated from this server and database system was used as basis for a more responsive policy and fisheries management governance.
He is also among those who encourage students, professionals, and other sectors in the community to be more involved in environmental protection by way of planting mangrove in identified Mangrove Protection Areas of the MFARMC.
From P30,000 monthly income, Christitu supports his family with a meager income from fish catch sales after he left the commercial fishing company. Nevertheless, he also started living guilt-free. He knows that in exchange for the large income from illegal ways is a happier life for his family which makes him proud.
He realized that small-scale fishers have started to improve their income after commercial fishing vessels were banned from encroaching into identified areas of municipal waters.
Other fishermen have also witnessed the changes in marine conditions when people started practicing good fishing methods. More dolphins have been sighted in municipal waters and the sighting has become a crowd-drawer, especially for tourists.
MFARMC is one of the highly-recognized councils in the locality of Lupon, Davao Oriental as an organization that helps the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) catch illegal fishers and undertake information and education drive among fisherfolks of the town.
The BFAR has recognized the active efforts of this MFARMC and hopes to replicate such effort in other towns and cities in the region. [PIA 11/Mai Gevera-Macapagat]
