Fuel price surge halts fishing in Misamis Oriental

ANCHORED Fishermen secure their boats at the pier in Barangay Luyongbonbon, Opol town, Misamis Oriental, as seen in this photo taken last week after many chose not to venture out to sea due to rising fuel prices. —FROILAN GALLARDO

OPOL, MISAMIS ORIENTAL—Rising fuel costs triggered by escalating tensions in the Middle East are beginning to hit the small fishing village of Luyongbonbon here, where local fishermen are now forced to keep their boats anchored and rethink how to support their families.

Village chief Jerry Jacalan and fishing boat owner Cecilia Baculio stood on the Luyongbonbon pier as the dying northeast monsoon or “amihan” winds swept across the small bay, where trawlers and pump boats lay idle.

In normal times, the village’s small fleet of nine trawlers and 20 pump boats would already be at sea, hauling in their catch as they have done for decades. But this week—and likely in the days ahead—the boats will remain anchored.

“With these winds and the high price of diesel fuel, nobody will venture out to sea,” Baculio, 65, told the Inquirer in a recent interview.

Baculio said she used to spend about P10,000 on diesel fuel each time her 30-ton fishing trawler, MB Congcong, went out to sea.

But when tensions escalated between the United States and Iran last February, she found that the cost had at least doubled.

Faced with that reality, Baculio and other boat owners decided to keep their vessels at the pier.

Not taking risks

“We will be at a loss. What if we catch only 10 banyeras (small tubs) of fish?” she said.

Baculio explained that a small tub of sardines sells for about P2,000 each when their boats dock at Luyongbonbon pier, where buyers usually wait for the catch.

She said she could not risk spending that much money, especially as fish catches in Opol’s municipal waters have declined over the past year.

For Jacalan, the crisis has forced many fishermen to look for work in nearby factories and establishments after securing their boats at the pier.

He noted that the wives of fishermen have also started taking odd jobs to help support their families.

“Seventy percent of my 4,000 constituents are fishermen. With this crisis, everyone is looking for a job. Many of them know carpentry. I hope this skill will help them find work,” Jacalan said.

Fishing remains a key economic sector in the booming first-class municipality of Opol, located about 11 kilometers west of Cagayan de Oro.

Most fishermen from the coastal villages rely on daily trips to nearby municipal waters to support their families.