“My father has always been a Pescador, our term for fishermen,” says Cocoy Garcia, a 38-year old fisher, as we strolled around his stilt village in Culion, Northern Palawan. “I was nine when he first took me out. We caught baskets of squid that first night, lured in by the glow of our petromax lamp.”
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| Two Bancas for the Philippines project beneficiaries haul up a netful of fish aboard a newly-made fiberglass boat in Busuanga, Northern Palawan. Through strong public and private sector support, the project has enabled fisherfolk to build 800 fibreglass boats across Palawan and the Visayas. Artisanal or small-scale fisheries employ 90% of the world’s capture fishers, providing 50% of global yields and 60% of wild-caught seafood. The Philippines has 1.3 million artisanal fishers, comprising 5% of its labour force. (Gregg Yan / WWF) |
Together, Cocoy and his father fished for decades. The old Pescador taught his son the age-old skills of the sea – how to read the tide, mend nets, overhaul engines, repair boats, where to find the biggest fish.
