What Pangasinense does not love buro? Yes, that salty, tangy concoction of rice and freshwater fish fermented into perfection? And yes, specially if it comes from central

Pangasinan town of Bayambang?

But sorry folks, the buro industry has been badly affected by lack of freshwater fish sourced from the Mangabul Fisheries Reservation.

Mayor Leocadio de Vera, the rotund, ever-friendly executive of Bayambang, said the reservation's creeks have been heavily silted by lahar from Mt. Pinatubo and are in need of dredging. Send in the the dredgers quick!

The long dry season this year has also contributed to the decreased fish catch.

Mangabul is a 2,059-hectare marshland area between this town and neighboring Camiling and Moncada towns in Tarlac. It is crisscrossed by at least 10 long and winding

creeks, the biggest of which is the Colisao Creek.
 
During the summer, the whole area, including the creeks' banks, becomes a colorful field of rice, corn, vegetables and onions. On rainy days, 454 hectares of the

Reservation turn into a lake abound with different fish species.
 

Mangabul used to teem with catfish, mudfish, gourami, grey snapper (alisu) and other fishes and the harvests were more than enough for the protein needs of the residents.
 
“But the harvest has been declining throughout the years,” de Vera said.
Some makers of buro had to buy fish from other places so they can continue making this native delicacy, he added.

The residents actually welcome the coming La Niña so that the creeks that have dried up will have water again. The creeks are feed by the Agno and Tarlac Rivers.
 
Mangabul was declared by the national government as a fishery reservation then ceded it to the municipal government under a usufruct for 50 years. The municipal

government in turn bid it out for short-term leases to private persons, denying small fishermen access to the area. The DENR has assumed jurisdiction over the area in 1998.