IPON FISHERIES OF ABRA RIVER 
By Edward H. Taylor 
(From the Section of Ichthyology, Biological Laboratory, Bureau of 
Science, Manila) 
On the western coast of Luzon as well as in numerous other 
parts of the Philippines there are several annual runs of the 
young of a small fish of the family Gobiid®, known to the 
Ilocanos as vpon or hipon? At stated seasons they appear along 
the shore and attempt the ascent of the rivers, where they 
attain adult size. The adults reach a length of from 8 to 10 
centimeters; the young when taken are usually less than 2 
centimeters in length. In spite of the very small size of these 
fishes the catch in the Philippines is so large that the industry 
is of marked economic importance. 
The ipon fisheries of Abra River, which are typical of the 
ipon fisheries of other places along the Luzon coast, are prob- 
ably the best illustration of this important industry. 
Abra River rises in the highlands dividing Kalinga Subprov- 
ince, Mountain Province, from Abra Subprovince, Ilocos Sur. It 
is fed by several fairly large streams, which carry much water 
during the rainy season. It emerges from the mountainous pla- 
teau of Abra through a narrow gap in the coast range about 12 
kilometers from the sea. Here on the coastal plain it spreads 
out in fan shape, to lakelike dimensions, entering the sea through 
several mouths. In its upper reaches it probably attains con- 
siderable depths, since several soundings of more than 10 meters’ 
depth were made. However, it frequently descends over long 
stretches of gravel and small bovHders, with a depth of from 
1 to 2 meters. During the dry season the depth at the various 
mouths is slight, probably averaging about a meter. The pro- 
vincial road crosses the river very near the mountain gap. Here 
the river is about 0.4 kilometer wide, and the depth does not 
exceed 2.5 meters during December. 
The ipon of Abra River that were taken during November 
were the young of a small goby which when full grown does not 
attain a length of more than 10 centimeters. During the greater 
' In many of the Filipino dialects the names ipon and hipon are applied to 
small shrimps or prawns, species of which are found in both fresh and 
salt water. 
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