16 GOBIES OP THE PHILIPPINES 



their capture and preservation form one of the chief resources of 

 the region and one of the most valuable sources of income. 



Only a few species of gobies occur in sufficient quantity and 

 at the same time have a life history so modified and arranged 

 as to bring about the production of enormous quantities of ipon. 

 As far as is known at present, the chief but by no means the 

 only sources of ipon are the following species (their ordinary 

 Ilocano names are also given) : Chonophorus melanocephalus, 

 bukto and bunog; Eleotris melanosoma, virot; Glossogobius 

 giurus and Glossogobius celebius, bal-la; Ophiocara aporos; and 

 Sicyopterus lacrymosus, paliling. Two of these are eleotrids, 

 and three are gobies in the strictest sense. 



During the months from August to February these species, 

 and many others, successively make their way down to the sea 

 and there lay their eggs. 



From about the middle of September to the middle of March 

 vast shoals of tiny, more or less colorless or whitish, scaleless 

 gobies make their appearance at the mouthjs of Philippine 

 rivers, especially in northern Luzon. They are most abundant 

 for about three days after the full moon each month, when the 

 tides are highest. 



Careful watch is kept, and when the first ipon are seen every 

 banca is launched and every effort is made to capture the tiny 

 fish. Huge nets with very fine mesh are used, and vast quanti- 

 ties of ipon are taken. The fish at this stage have a very del- 

 icate flavor and great numbers are eaten, either fried in oil 

 or cooked in various other ways. 



People dwelling in the coast towns endeavor to capture as 

 much ipon as possible while the fish are still in the salt water 

 along the coast and at the mouths of the rivers. Cagayan River 

 is so large (about 6.5 kilometers broad and comparatively deep 

 at its mouth) that, in spite of the great toll of ipon taken, 

 many millions are able to escape capture and ascend the river. 

 In Abra River conditions are different. It is a broad, swift but 

 shallow, brawling stream, full of rock and gravel carried down 

 from the mountains that extend toward the sea within 6 to 8 

 kilometers of its mouth. 



In this and similar streams the Ilocanos use several deadly 

 devices which will exterminate the ipon before many years. 

 Barricades and dams of loose stones, banana stems, and bam- 

 boo are constructed in such a way that the ascending ipon are 

 forced to follow them to an opening leading into a 6060, or 

 bamboo fish trap. The paed is a similar but less permanent 



