destruction of the reef as au environment for fish. The changes 

 brought about in the structural characteristics of reefs hy sub- 

 jecting them to repeated blasting must be of considerable proportions. 



Thus the wasteful iiat\ire of ex'olosives when used in reef 

 fishing together with the effect on the young and the alternation 

 of the environment are the chief objectives raised to this kind of 

 exploitation and all of them seem reasonable and logical. There are 

 certain other disadvantages and limitations that need, however, to 

 be pointed out. Fundamentally it is possible that in a more nearly 

 normal market than exists in the Philippines at present time such 

 fishing could be very expensive due to the handling of each indi- 

 vidual item. It is difficult to see how a fish that is dived for, 

 picked up by hand, i^laced in a canoe, transferred to a mother ship, 

 packed in ice and shipped to market could ever be sold at a reason- 

 able price. Only the cheapest kind of labor could be used in such 

 operfitions in ordinary times or localities. 



On the other hand there are advantages in that, at present, 

 explosives are easy to obtain, are therefore cheap, and the capital 

 investment is kept at a minimiim. There is no outlay for expensive, 

 expendable nets and other gear. And finally the skills required are 

 the most elementary imaginable. 



It is probably tnie that the prevalence of this type of 

 fishing effort, more than any other factor, is hampering the develop- 

 ment of the Philippine fishing industry. No ingenuity, no explora- 

 tion, and very little legitimate capital is going into the industry 

 at present. Also, the extent of the shallow reefs is such that 

 they might support the volume of illegal effort now being employed 

 for some years to come. Bat this much is certain, when the currently 

 exploited reefs are depleted, 'as surely they will be in not too long 

 a time, then other grounds and other methods will have to be utilized. 



The alternative methods here described have advantages 

 that need to be emphasized. These have mostly to do with the conser- 

 vation of the resource and the perpetuation of the reef as a 

 producing unit. In the light of the foregoing discussion such 

 arguments are obvious. Thus no fish killed need be wasted, no eggs 

 or young need be destroyed, and the reef be kept intact to produce 

 in perpetuity. It is said that net fishing can be overdone on a 

 reef and intensive effort by such gear can result in overfishing. 

 Such an effect is temporary, however, and in a year or so it is 

 possible, by refraining from exploiting the same reef for that time, 

 to come back to it and harvest it again. 



Ee commend at ions and iJuggestions 



The handline fisherman sitting in his banca over a reef 

 either by day or night, is a familiar sight in the Philippines and 

 he is the one who suffers most from the intensive exploitation of 

 his fishing grounds by explosives. Still by his very good citizen- 

 ship he is the man who needs to be encouraged. He is the unit of 



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