FRESH CATCH Anchovies caught by fishermen in the waters off Casiguran, Aurora, end up in community food stations in the town. —HONESTO CAMACHO
/Contributor
Around two tons of anchovies swarmed the coast of Casiguran town in Aurora province on April 25 and fishermen shared the bounty with three villages in community pantries that ended Tuesday, officials said.
The anchovies, locally known as “bolinao,” or “dilis,” were shared with 500 families in the villages of Ditinagyan, Bianuan and Calabgan, according to Honesto Camacho, chair of the Casiguran Fisherfolk Federation.
Dilis is usually sold for P30 to P50 per kilogram but 50 fishermen chose to give their catch away in light of restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19.
Second time
The disease has infected 150 residents, 66 of whom have been quarantined and 21 admitted in hospitals.
At least 56 people there had already recovered from the infection, which killed seven in the town that hosts a number of beach resorts.
“Our catch helped people. Many made fish sauce out of it to use in the next months,” Camacho said.
This was the second time that a huge volume of anchovies reached the Casiguran coast, said Leonisa Curitana, municipal agriculture officer.
According to Camacho, the first incident happened in October 2019, and the catch was fewer. Residents see many reasons for the big catch, including 382 kg of “talakitok” (trevallies) that entered fish pens the same day, Casiguran Mayor Ricardo Bitong said.
These might have been drawn to the “bahura” (fish sanctuary) or a large fish might have pursued the anchovies, Bitong said.