Looking for “Nemo?”  Find him and hundreds of his kind in a fish sanctuary in the island town of Anda, Pangasinan  – a place where they have found  refuge from collectors of aquarium (decorative) fishes.

“Nemo” is a clownfish, a character in the animation movie Finding Nemo that introduced moviegoers to the fascinating undersea world.

It was also the movie that inspired the fisherfolk here to gather clownfishes scattered in the different areas of the 50-hectare marine protected area (fish sanctuary) off the shore of this island town. 

The fisherfolk placed the playful brightly-colored clownfishes in one corner of the sanctuary where they have proliferated. It helps too, that sea anemones (soft corals with tentacles where clownfish stay) are also protected by the fishermen thus both the clownfishes and the anemones can live together in harmony in their natural habitat.

“Illegal fishers used to collect clownfishes and other decorative fishes using cyanide and other forms of poison. Anemones on the other hand, are also collected by for food or to decorate aquariums. But since the sanctuary is off-limits to the all forms of fishing, legal or illegal, the clownfishes are thriving in the place,” said Ben Caasi, a barangay councilman of Macalaeng and a bantay dagat.

Caasi led me to where the clownfishes abound – a shallow area (some three feet deep) in the sea and lifted a rock full of “dancing” anemones. Playfully cavorting among the tentacles were several clownfishes with the anemones seemingly very protective of its friends.

Several local tourists were playing near a sandbar, enjoying the clear waters and seemingly oblivious of the beautiful fishes around them. “We allow tourists to come and swim here, but definitely there’s no taking any marine resources,” Caasi firmly said.

The residents claim that the sandbar changes position and shape depending on the season and the waves. “You see that guard house? Sometimes the sandbar is on its other side. Sometimes, it’s on another side,” Myra Caido, a municipal government employee, said. The white sand bar, visible from the shoreline, has a shape that ranges from oval to round.

In yet another corner of the sandbar was a foot-long sea-turtle with red carapace which fisherman from Sablig accidentally caught that morning. It was the first time that the fishermen saw a sea turtle with red carapace but every sea turtle they cautch is returned to the open sea after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has identified and  put a tag on it.

Since it was a Saturday, the lost sea turtle was brought to a pond beside the rest house of Mayor Nestor Pulido and his wife Alice, a member of the provincial board. The turtle was to be released the following Monday.

“Sanktwaryo”

For the past five years since the establishment of the Panacalan Fish Sanctuary, the fishermen have added another word to their vocabulary –“sanktwaryo.” They take the meaning of “sanctuary” seriously. The sanctuary is established by the local government and managed by officials and residents of Macaleeng and Sablig villages. Fiecely protective of the fish sanctuary, they take turns patrolling the area against unscrupulous fishermen who violate its “sacredness.” The BFAR has given them radio equipment so they can easily go after violators.

But throughout the years, violators have dwindled as they have realized the importance of the sanctuary in their livelihood. And fish catch has increased. “Before, the daily harvest of a farmer was less that a kilo of fish but now each can catch at least three kilos, says fisherman Fidel Camino, 50, a bantay dagat.

Coral cover, too, has increased. Belmore Bugawan, in-charge of the coastal resources management of the BFAR Ilocos Region, says the coral cover in the sanctuary is “slowly thickening” from 40 percent to about 50 percent.  Corals were victims of illegal fishermen who used home-made dynamites and cyanide that slowly killed them.

The Anda sea water is home to branching and table corals, including soft corals like anemones. At least six families of fish with different species can be found in the area, Bugawan notes.

 The BFAR has also introduced seaweeds farming to the Anda fisherfolk as an alternative livelihood. The seaweeds, like the corals, serve as shelter to the fish.  Then there’s the sea urchin culture, another source of income for the fishermen.

“The sea is kind to us if we will protect it. We will not go hungry because the sea will take of us if we will take care of it,” a fisherman said.

Mayor Pulido said he planned to put up large aquariums somewhere near the town proper where different marine resources will be showcased. “It would be one way of educating the people, of reminding them of our rich natural resources. Then they, too, would do their part in protecting the beauty of our town.”

The local government has also started mangrove reforestation programs in different coastal villages. In barangay Imbo, more than 10,000 hectares have been reforested by the villagers. A blackboard posted near the wharf was a notice for schedules of the residents on who and when they would clean the mangrove reforestation area, a sign that they take the project seriously.

“They have to clean the area, or seaweeds will smoother the roots and the young mangroves will die,” Pulido said. Some mangrove reforestation projects fenced with nets to keep seaweeds away. Late last year, a municipal mangrove nursery was established by the local government with the support of the Sagip Lingayen Gulf project, a non-government organization based at the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute. The nursery is managed by the Poblacion Multi-Sectoral Organization.
Even students play their role in regaining the lost beauty of Anda,  The Samahan ng mga  Mangingisda sa Cabungan (Samaca) coordinates with the barangay high school in integrating the CAT subject of fourth year students in their barangay with their mangrove reforestation project. Students were given credits for the community service component of the CAT by participating in planting of mangroves.

 “It is sad that Anda lost most of its mangrove forests which were converted to fishponds  because of fishpond lease agreement program of the national government. But we are trying our best to reforest some logged areas and so far, we are succeeding,” Pulido claimed.

The husband-and- wife team is determined to make Anda deserving of its name. After all, Anda means maganda (beautiful) in the local dialect. But as they make this island town beautiful, the couple, with the cooperation of the villagers,  also make sure that its relatively pristine ecology is preserved and protected.

The collective dream: To make Anda an island paradise.

( I wrote this piece last year and was published in the Inquirer. Since its summer again and people are looking for places to go, I thought of blogging it).