Ilocandia’s eel industry dying

The eel industry in the Ilocos is dying.

In times past, the long and winding Abra River teemed with this elongated and slimy freshwater fish popularly known among Filipinos as palos.

Now, this fish fondly cooked by Ilocanos as adobo, inihaw, and dalangdang is almost gone because of the indiscriminate use of destructive fishing methods by unscrupulous and greedy fish catchers.

As observed by researchers of the University of Northern Philippines (UNP) in Vigan City (Ilocos Sur), "electrofishing" and other illegal fishing practices have become rampant in recent years.

Moreover, Alma Segismundo and Petronila Florendo noted, the number of fishermen catching eel in the Abra River has considerably increased.

Eel is a freshwater fish that usually thrives in rivers and river tributaries. It spends most of its life (8-15 years) in rivers before it heads for the deep sea to breed and eventually die, according to PCAMRD.

In Abra and Ilocos Sur, the main source of eel is the Abra River.

The eel can fetch P350 a kilo.

Years back, local fishermen along the Abra River benefited from the abundance of the fish. In recent years, however, the catch has been declining, prompting Segusmundo and Florendo to conduct an assessment of the fisheries resources of the river.

Their PCAMRD-monitored nine-month study had for respondents 256 fishermen in 13 towns. The average catch sold was only two kilos per week during the peak months (May-June).

"This means that the resource is declining," Segusmundo and Florendo averred.

To save the eel industry, they recommended that, among other things, policies and ordinances on the proper utilization of the Abra River’s natural resources should be strictly implemented and that the fishermen should be educated on the consequences of illegal fishing practices and indiscriminate fishing. – Rudy A. Fernandez