Of fish and fishes.....

This message is a follow-up communication between Mr. Magnaye and ANAKBALAYAN via email:

aFrom: ohtie magnaye
To: Fillmoore Gadon
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 6:13:40 PM
Subject: Re:

Gud day mr. gadon..i'm very supriced and so glad ,coz lot of our kababayan are concerning our ENVIRONMENT and fighting to elimanated the "SALOT sa ating KARAGATAN"..Hindi ba nababangit sa iyo ng ating mga kababayan diyan sa nassakupan ng mula"PALIKPIKAN to KARATIG POOK" mula unang panahon till 1990's ay may NAMAMARA sa mga tabing dagat na isdang DILIS..Boung baybaying ng BALAYAN BAY ay sagana iyan..milyong kababayan natin ang uma-asa lalo na itong ang mga panghanap buhay na "BAYAKUS o HILA_HILA"..Sa isdang DILIS din kaya napasok ang ating bayan ng BALAYAN sa HISTORY ng boung mundo(dahil makikita mo ito sa kahit saan man dako ng mundo) ang "BAGOONG BALAYAN"..At tanda ko pa rin na kapag MALIWANAG ang BUWAN at namangka sa medyo laot ay pag kumatok ay nagluluk-suhan ang mga isdang ito sa bangka..Sagana tayo sa tuyong DILIS noon..At ito rin ang dahilan kaya noon ay masagana kahit anong isda , pagkat ito ang kinakain nila.. Sana pagtuunan na rin natin ng pansin ang "SALOT na ginagamit na pANGISDA ng mga taga HUKAY (boung calatagan) at tga ANILAO..ito iyong "SIMBOR"panghuli ng isdang DOLONG(DILIS when matured),Kung saan sa mga ROCKYSHORES nag O_OPERATED at nangi-ngitlog ang mga ISDANG DILIS..Ginagamitan din ito ng maliwanag na ilaw.... Hindi cguro nai-iisip ng mga taong gumagawa nito na,kapag lumaki ang isang TABO na DULONG, ang katumbas nito ay more than isang BANYERA na DILIS..Sa aking palagay ay wala na ring mahuli ang taong gumagawa nito dahil halos wala ng ISDANG DOLONG.... Sana mabigyan din ang mga ito ng ADVICE or SIMINAR sa kanilang mga ginagawa..Alam ko at alam din ating mga kababayan na dati ay mga "BINTOL"(small basnig na coleman lang ang gamit pang-ilaw)ang dating ginagamit ng mga taong ito,madali lang lumaki ang isdang ito,at saka nila hulihin..okey din naman humuli ito ng isda ang "BINTOL" at ENVIRO FRIENDLY ang ganitong uri ng pangisda...Mr. Gadon,matatanong mo ang ating mga kababayan sa mga nabanggit kong lugar kung totoo ang aking sinasabing ito....At nawa ay maibalik natin sa DATI ang KASAGANAAN ng ISDA hindi lang sa ating BALAYAN BAY kundi sa boung KARAGATAN ng PILIPINAS...Again thanks and MABUHAY KAYO>>

A little bit of the dish:

"Dulong" or Anchovy fry(?) (Gobiopterus lacustis? or Family Engraulidae?) are part of a very large group of different species of gobies or anchovies. Tiny fish that can rest on your smallest fingertips, these little morsels of flavor and protein are either served totally raw, cooked in vinegar (kinilaw style), cooked in banana leaves, battered and fried into fish cakes, or simply dried (pictured here) then fried. There isn’t a whole lot written on this fish and even the proper scientific name was hard to nail conclusively. Some sources say it part of the Gobiidae family (very common, 1 out of every 10 fish is a goby) while other sources say Engraulidae family… so I can’t say for certain. If I had to make a bet, I would lean towards the Engraulidae, mini anchovy path as these appear to be the smaller version of anchovies that are used in the making of patis.

A freshwater dweller at this early stage of their lives, dulong must eventually work their way back to the sea and grow up to be the anchovies we know from Caesar (Cesar) salads and mashed up in Worcestershire sauce. Like Salmon that find freshwater by fighting their way upstream to have their young, the anchovies are supposed to be safer in freshwater until they are ready to enter the fish-eat-fish world in the open ocean. While they may be safer from fellow sea creatures, they are harvested by humans in staggering amounts. In the Philippines, government statistics suggest that we harvest somewhere between 200-300 metric tons of dulong per annum. That must mean billions and billions of fry!

A few weeks ago I saw some dried dulong (daing na dulong) and debated with the seller whether I should get the more familiar dried dilis or the tiny dulong. She suggested just lightly toasting or frying the dried dulong in a pan with a smidgen of oil. I bought a small package for P40 and promptly brought them home and forgot about them. A few weeks later, searching for salty breakfast food, I fried up the dulong for just a few minutes in a hot pan (note there is very little oil) and served it with hot rice and a chopped tomato relish with chilli vinegar. The fried egg hadn’t made it onto the plate yet. The dried dulong was really good, and not all that salty - it’s probably just literally dried and not heavily salted… Terrific crunch, slightly salty flavor, and that unique daing experience (bitter taste that comes with munching an entire being, brains and guts and all) that is truly an acquired taste. The little bag of dulong easily served four; look for it in the markets or provincial specialty stalls.

(Note: this is an account of a resident blogger in Manila, from Manila Market web site.)

"Dulong" is not a "Dulis" (Balayanos term for "Dilis", an anchovy specie) is an argument oftentimes ending in heated debates going on up to this days in western Batangas, Philippines.

Working or should i say voluntarily working as a coastal community development worker for nearly 10 years now and continuously implementing Fish Stock Assessment, i could not find the exact classification and scientific/english name of it. Neither the two Australian marine biologists, Mr. Stuart Horneman and Miss Selina Stoute during the CERD days, could exactly identify this small fish. My co-worker Tatay Ed Enderez said dulong is different from dulis. He further urge that dulong no longer grows, in size, compared to dulis- the anchovy. Scrutinizing closely the sample dulong does not have that longitudinal silver line as explicitly characterized a dulis. The former has that almost transparent body as opposed to the solid whitish body of dulis.

Whether or not dulong is dulis is not a big matter. What really matters here is the threatened ecological system which human activities-over fishing, habitat destructions, pollutions, etc., brings. Again true to what Mr. magnaye had written to us, small fish serves as food to their next-in-size which feed also the next-in-size to them and it chainly continues. When a part of this system is broken or changed unmanageably the system became unproductive , economically and ecologically. Ultimately the result is poverty.

As a member of Municipal Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council [MFARMC], we opted to recommend to the local legislators to enact amendments to the Municipal Fishery Ordinance a part stating prohibitions of fine mesh nets in the municipal waters. Balayan is abundant in dulong and dulis in the early days with municipal coast characterized by rocky flats in some of its coastal communities which may attribute to the species habitats as mentioned by Mr. Magnaye in his letter. However, these species are gearing to be extinct in the municipality may be due to erosions that buried the habitats, pollution both by domestic and industrial wastes, and perhaps unmanaged extractions. Bayakos (Beach Seine) is a gear that was used by Balayanos in the later years. however this gear had been improvized too. At the later time, it uses fine mesh nets in a bag type end of the gear unlike the former times where it is just a pure net with small "mata" (holes). The abundance of these species in the past fave way to the many users and speaking of prohibitions, RA 8550 has that clause specifically giving authority to local government units to effectively design and mange its own fishery conservation mechanism upon duly consultation with the MFARMC .

Balayan MFARMC recommended to the municipality to give the Barangays the decision of whether or not they would allow the use of Bayakos in their area. After all, if totally prohibited there are no alternative or supplemental support that can be given to these users. Further the worst economic crisis is battering the entire world.

For some, this would mean cutting off the rights of lowly impoverish fishers, but for a concerned citizens and helping in proper management of resources, the action is a balanced recommendation as no one can proved the exact seasons or month that dulong and dulis surface [seasonal use of fine mesh net gear], was not totally prohibited, giving local government units ample participation in fishery management and conservation, and giving the species themselves the chance, opportunities and place to hide from their predators which includes human activities to maintain its existence!