Bridging the Gap
By Henry F. Funtecha

Post–war marine fishing in Iloilo

The end of the Second World War ushered an important era in the development of the fishing industry in Iloilo. Faced with the problem of shortage of food, the country had to develop its industries, especially fishing. Due to an acute insufficiency of fish supply, prices became unreasonably high and many enterprising businessmen shifted their attention to catching fish.

In Iloilo, fish potentials were especially rich. Marine fishing continued to constitute the primary part of the daily chores of the coastal residents. The municipalities of Banate, Estancia, Carles, the Guimaras Strait, Panay Gulf, and the Iloilo Strait are notable fishing grounds. In fact, because of its abundant supply of fish and other marine products, Iloilo earned the title as ‘Alaska of the Philippines' from the early 1900s to the 1950s.

Marine fishing in Iloilo is of two types: The commercial or deep-sea fishing and sustenance fishing. The major grounds for commercial fishing boats of three gross tons and over are the Iloilo Strait, Guimaras Strait, Panay Gulf, and Visayan Sea.

Unlike other fields, marine fishing boats had relatively no need for rehabilitation after the war. In contrast to agricultural lands, the marine waters are intact. The only problem of the fishing industry by this time was the proliferation of dynamite fishing. It was also practiced before the war, but only on a limited scale considering the scarcity of explosives. But during the war and the early part of the post-World War II period, large quantities of gunpowder became available and commercial blast fishing was undertaken by many unscrupulous fishermen. Constabulary intelligence records showed that explosives were smuggled almost every week from Luzon to various points in the Visayas and Mindanao. These explosives eventually reached the hands of small-time fishermen in the barrios. According to the same sources, illegal fishing was rampant in well-known fishing grounds such as Estancia and Carles.

A post-war innovation in the industry was the use of war-surplus generators. The innovative Filipino fishermen accepted the surplus U.S. Army generator engines and installed them on their fishing crafts. This installation of engines further depleted Iloilo's marine resourses. On the other hand, this innovation paid off as it allowed fishing boats to reach more distant fishing grounds. Thus, previously isolated coastal communities were now given access and fishing industry developed in many communities which heretofore knew of it as a primary subsistence activity.

There were several new outfits introduced in the fishing industry of the province after the war. The “payaw” which was introduced in the late 1950s by the Cebuano fishermen who plied the Antique waters where there were plenty of corrals serving as fish shelter.

Another new fishing outfit introduced in Estancia in the early 1950s was the “largarete.” The “largarete” was an engine powered single banca, 35 feet long without riggers.

Another indication that the industry was picking up momentum at this time was the fact that there were already several boat-builders, 42 carpentry shops specializing on fishing equipment and 69 fish driers and preservers in Panay during the early 1950s. In 1971, there were 150 fishing boats registered in the entire province with an aggregate gross tonnage of 4,130,127 involving a total investment of P8,069,579 and directly employing 1,793 fishermen.

Also in the early 1970s, the prevalent fishing gears or methods employed were the trawl, bagnet, purse seine, “lawag” , and around hawl seine.