Fishing at Night in Marinduque

Fishing is the major occupation and livelihood of rural folks in Marinduque. The island is mostly coconut plantations. The island has only a small area of land for farming ( rice and vegetables), thus a majority of the natives are either full time or part time fishermen. They would fish at night and return early in the morning before or just after sunrise.

One of my activities during early summer morning is to watch the fishermen unload their catch. I would purchased a few kilos of fresh fish at a reasonable price and of course, I would buy the best variety of fish. "Mingaw" a specie of red fish is my favorite fish. It taste almost like pork and has no fishy smell. It is as expensive as chicken or pork on a per kilo basis. But it is worth your money. It is however seasonal and you can not buy it every day. The cheapest variety of fish( tulingan) could be purchased for less than a dollar per kilo during the summer. During the season, I will purchase about 5 kilos of fish and sun dry( bislad) it for future use. Sun drying preserved the fish. The fishermen catch is sold to the fish dealers who in turn sell it in retail in the downtown markets of Boac and Gasan, If there is a big catch, the fish is packed in ice and transported to Lucena, Quezon and even to Manila sometimes.

One of my other favorite activity is watching the fishermen prepare for their night fishing expedition. They start as soon as the sun sets (middle photo). As the night grows dark, they open their fishing lights. This would attract the fish to their nets. The top and bottom photos show only one light. Often times, there would be more than 50 to 100 lights. The ocean would look like Luneta Park in Manila. The lights look like fireflies with the dark ocean as background. It is a sight to behold and remember!