Interviewing harvesters in the Philippines aquarium fish trade

An update from MRes. students, Emily and Rebecca, from their fieldwork in the Philippines:

Interviews, interviews, and more interviews describes what we have been up to for the past month.

We have been interviewing government officials as well as aquarium fishers from three villages: Barangay 1, Santa Ana, and Looc. We have learned that there are 17 fishers who collect in Barangay 1, 19 who collect in Santa Ana, and 17 who collect in Looc, Mindoro. Unfortunately, we were unable to travel to Looc due to restrictions from the Looc government as well as heavy rains and strong currents. We have had the opportunity to meet government officials from multiple levels, for example the local municipal government, and the provincial office for fisheries in Batangas.

An interview with the Officer in Charge at the Provincial Fisheries Office, gathering information on existing polices. Credit: M.Soniega

Our interviews are focused on gathering socio-economic data about the aquarium fish collectors, and compiling species lists. They also seek to understand existing government rules about fish trade, the more informal social norms that fishers follow, and what both the fishers and government officials think of these.

One aspect of the interviews involves a specialised method for asking sensitive questions, the ‘bean method’. This method is designed to collect more accurate estimates on compliance to rules because, although asking people to report on sensitive (sometimes even illegal behavior) it allows them to “hide” their answers within a group—keeping their responses anonymous. This will help to paint a clearer picture of the realities for aquarium fishing here in Calatagan.

Picture 2: Emily interviewing an aquarium fish collector on the local beach.

Credit: R.Turley

While data analysis has not formally started, some themes are beginning to reoccur. For example, most fishers are men in their 40s and started aquarium fishing straight out of school. Most of them learned aquarium fishing from a family member (father, brother, cousin) or friend. While most of them do enjoy working in the aquarium trade, fewer of them would encourage others to enter it because it is a difficult job.

Through observations and interviews, we have also learned about the range of techniques used to catch different species, including specialized nets. Four of the oldest fishers we interviewed also described how, historically, some species were caught using cyanide, which stuns the fish but is also a dangerous toxin.

A barrier net, or locally named ‘lambat’, and ready for another days work.

Credit: R.Turley.

During the interviews, we have also learned a little bit about the history of the aquarium trade in Calatagan. Several fishers have said that the aquarium trade began in Calatagan in the 1950s, reporting that it is the community where aquarium fishing first began in the Philippines.

#aquarium #fishtales