The coastal town of Palompon, Leyte received its third prestigious Galing Pook Award in ceremonies held at Malacañang Palace recently. The award recognizes the town’s noteworthy initiative, Adlaw sa Danggit, aimed at protecting fish species and its coastal and marine resources and made an outstanding impact in the fight against hunger.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. conferred the award to Palompon officials led by Mayor Ramon Oñate, the brainchild behind the program 27 years ago.
These past few months, Palompon revealed that they were able to sustain the decades-long initiative to protect the town’s precious marine resource – the widely popular and delicious Siganus canaliculatus, locally known as danggit.
Sun-dried and salted danggit fish is a favorite breakfast dish and a source of income for fisherfolk, food processors and micro-entrepreneurs, particularly from Visayas.
The peak season of danggit’s spawning is during the third to the fifth new moon of February, March and April. But even beyond that, Palomponganon fisherfolk have been accustomed to protecting its coastal and marine resources.
However, local fishery enforcement officers, or Bantay Dagat, confirm that violations and apprehensions in this coastal town is not as common compared to other places.
To deter the perceived decrease in danggit population, a coastal community in Palompon, Leyte and the municipal government passed an Ordinance banning the catching of danggit during its nine-day spawning peak they aptly call “Adlaw sa Danggit.”
As part of their enforcement, all fish corrals, or bunsod/baklad, were individually inspected in under the provisions of the Ordinance that fish corrals should be open from 6 PM to 6 AM for danggit or binunsuran, to spawn their eggs.
PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT
One of the results of the 27-year-old program was the public’s active involvement in protecting Palompon’s marine treasure. Employees from different national government agencies, civic groups, private companies, students and even those coming from the business sector worked hand in hand in inspecting fish corrals, thereby protecting the danggit’s spawning grounds.
Since its implementation, Palompon has been able to sustain a stable fish supply, making it one of the main suppliers of dried boneless danggit in the market. Dried boneless danggit can fetch between P800 to P900 per kilo.
Palompon suppliers from the coastal barangays of Plaridel, Buenavista and Duljugan also ship their products to Cebu.
Officials said that it is an innovation to implement and enforce a local Ordinance on closed fishing season.
“To address the problem, the LGU did its best to come up with the best policy and conceptualized an alternative initiative to protect and conserve the declining population of danggit. The “Adlaw sa Danggit” is a closed-season strategy for fishing danggit to save its declining population which also affords all tourists and volunteers to have actual learning and hands-on fish harvesting and conservation experiences. Hence, it is a tourism activity whose primary objective is nature’s conservation,” the municipality’s environment officer, Raoul Bacalla explained.
Local folks said they were inspired by the message from their town leaders led by Mayor Oñate, who always reminded them to help protect their town and its rich natural resources.
“Usa ra ang Palompon, Ato kining higugmaon.” (There’s only one Palompon, let us always love her).
The way people of Palompon, Leyte exhibited their desire and passion to protect its coastal resources proved that enforcing a local ordinance aimed at protecting marine resources is attainable, thus allowing these fish species and many other marine resources to freely multiply.
