Bicol's Big Fish is Back!

ACTION & EVENT-URE NEWS FEED:

Late afternoon and we’re holed up in a hut along the coast of Tiwi in Albay, trading fish tales and waiting for fishermen to return. Sitting around us are their wives, mending nets and eyeing the swelling crowd of kids cajoling in the surf. This time of year, highly-prized bankulis or yellowfin tuna pass through Albay by the thousands.

Bankulis or yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) are the most highly-prized fish in Bicol's Lagonoy Gulf. A fisher shows off a 39-kilogramme fish. A decade ago, golden-finned bankulis were much larger. (Gregg Yan / WWF)

The first of the outrigger bancas arrive, unloading a decent haul of pundahan or skipjack – small, striped tuna which have proven surprisingly resilient to commercial fishing. Bancas two and three return empty-handed while a fourth disgorges a tub of galunggong or scad. Few yellowfin tuna are landed.