PALOMPON, Leyte — There’s a fiesta atmosphere at the municipal hall here as people from all walks of life sign up as volunteer for the annual Adlaw Sa Danggit (Day for Rabbitfish). Their task is to watch fish cages in the sea to ensure these are open on scheduled hours to allow danggit to spawn in the wild.

Every year, the local government’s call for Adlaw volunteers attract members of civic organizations, fraternities, community associations and school faculty.

“I always look forward to this. It’s my way of giving back to the community and to the mother nature that helped me to become what I am now,” says Rose, a public-school teacher and daughter of a fisherman. Rose says she has been volunteering for the last three years.

“Many of us are sons and daughters of fishermen who became professionals because of the bounty from the sea. This is our own little way of ensuring that future generations will not be deprived of the resources we enjoyed during our time,” she adds.

Spawning season

This year, the municipal government of Palompon has designated 1 to 3 February, 1 to 3 March and 4 to 6 April as Adlaw Sa Danggit. The dates are believed to be the peak spawning season for rabbitfish.

The multi-sectoral, community-based program aims to promote accessibility, food security and sustainability of danggit, a major food source and livelihood in the coastal town.

The program raises awareness and knowledge on fish behavior and spawning; enforces a “closed fishing season” to enable the fish to breed freely and replenish stock; develops alternative products like danggit chips; and briefs tourists on how to properly care for the environment.

These activities have helped increase the danggit population by 35 percent, benefitting not only fisherfolks, but the entire community of Palompon.

“You look for new moon, count three days, then on the fourth, fifth and sixth day that is the peak spawning season for danggit,” says Raoul Bacalla, the biodiversity and tourism consultant of Palompon. “We did not learn that from the books but from what the fishermen taught us.”

During the said dates, volunteers go out to the sea aboard small boats from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. to ensure that all fish cages, traps and sanctuaries are open for the danggit to spawn and not caught.

From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., fish cage owners are allowed to close the cages so they can harvest fish to sell.

The program started in 1997 when the fishermen sought the help of the local government unit (LGU) with their problem on dwindling catch.

Bacalla recalls that during the first few years, the LGU relied on members of the Philippine National Police, barangay tanod and bantay dagat to do the patrol at night.

Eventually, the program drew the interest of professionals, civic organizations and teachers who also signed up to do cage watch duties because it proved to be effective in enhancing the catch of fishermen.

Bacalla says that in recent years, tourists and groups from outside the municipality have come to volunteer and have included “bantay danggit” as a part of their teambuilding activity.

Private businesses such as resorts and floating restaurants in Palompon have also partnered with the LGU by opening their doors to the volunteers as their rest station. They can also use their facilities for free.

More livelihood

Palompon Mayor Ferdinand dela Calzada stresses the importance of the danggit industry in the local economy, not only as source of food but also employment to the community.

“We have one of the highest number of professionals in the entire province because even the poor can send their children to school because they also have steady income,” he says.

Palompon has 47 community-based people’s organizations engaged in various livelihood activities such as danggit deboning and making chips out of the fish.

Bacalla said hundreds of kilos of dried boneless danggit are shipped out of Palompon every week mostly to Cebu and Manila where they usually end up as essential part of the breakfast buffet in hotels and restaurants.