Rural Fishermen

Composed of roughly 7,100 islands, the Philippine Archipelago has one of the longest national shorelines in the world. With the Pacific Ocean to the east and the South China Sea out to the west, the country is completely surrounded by water, both outside its boundaries and within its land. Primarily a farming and fishing nation, the Philippines offers numerous places to launch fishing operations.

Despite the apparent enormity of the opportunities for fishing in the region, the local fishermen still endure a hard life. It's a lifestyle characterized by poverty usually brought about by a lack of education and the proper financial backing to help an investment grow.

Most native fishermen still live in a state of poverty. Dwelling in simple huts by the seashore, such homes are devoid of modern comforts. These peasants of the seas don't have very much in the way of material wealth. A simple collection of the basic necessities of life (clothing, shelter, food, etc.) and maybe a couple of boats stocked with one or two large fishing nets make up their net worth.

A good number of them tend fishfarms instead of going out to sea. Unfortunately, many of these farms are technically owned by larger entities such as fishing industry magnates or corporations. The fishermen get only a little percentage of what their hands have toiled. The rest of the bountiful harvest goes to the owners who sit back and wait for the profits to come.

Unlike their Western counterparts, many of the country’s fishermen do not have access to quality education. In other parts of the fishing world, modern scientific knowledge has equipped fishermen with the proper knowledge that enables them to make the most out of their marine farms and harvests.

Whether it be brought about by extreme poverty or a general lack of educational resources in the rural areas where these fishermen live, the fact remains that many local fishermen do not possess the knowledge that their Western counterparts do. As a result, inefficient and sometimes dangerous fishing methods (such as dynamite fishing) are carried out. Some fail to pay attention to the possible consequences some of these actions might bring in the future.

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