Looking for ‘ludong’ in Abra River
SAN FERNANDO CITY—Tom Avelino Arcalas remembers that afternoon in November 1991 when the Abra River yielded bountiful “ludong,” the most expensive freshwater fish in the country that is endemic in the river.
Arcalas, now 73, was born and lived all his life in Santa, a town in Ilocos Sur province traversed by the expansive Abra River. His house is just 100 meters away from the riverbank and 500 meters before the river exits to the sea.
“It was during sunset of that day when abundant ludong swam down to the river and fishermen used gill nets to harvest them. The following morning, there were still ludong to catch,” he said in a recent interview.
Arcalas remembered in his young years that fishermen would immediately know that ludong have arrived to spawn because the river would smell “fishy.”
“Now the river never smells fishy anymore,” he said, adding that due to its abundance, ludong was considered to be just an “ordinary fish” back in the day.
Ludong or the lobed river mullet (Cestraeus plicatilis), is traditionally identified with Cagayan River in Cagayan province, but it is also endemic to the Abra River that flows through the provinces of Abra, Benguet and Ilocos Sur. Their habitats are the deep pools of Addalem River in Quirino province and the rapids of Didimpit at Barangay Lacab in Jones town in Isabela.
Ludong is known as being the costliest freshwater fish species in the country, commanding high prices of up to P7,000 per kilo. Due to overfishing, the population of the fish is teetering on the edge of endangered.
‘President’s fish’
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) says the fish is catadromous, meaning these are born in saltwater and migrate as juveniles to freshwater in the mountains where they grow as adults, before migrating back into the sea to spawn every October to November.
Also called the “President’s fish” for its steep price that supposedly only people of stature can afford, ludong is now getting another serious look from concerned government agencies.
During a meeting on the conservation of ludong and “bolidao” (also called “bulidao”), another species endemic to Abra River, on Oct. 29 last year, the BFAR regional office in the Cordillera reported that their records showed that only 4.27 kilos of ludong were landed from 2014 to 2024—2.52 kilos in 2015 and 1.75 kilos in 2018.
Mary Tauli, an aquaculturist and the National Stock Assessment program leader of BFAR Cordillera, in her presentation at the meeting said the declining ludong catch is blamed on several factors such as improper waste and garbage disposal that pollutes the river system, siltation, and sand and gravel extraction that destroy the fish habitat.
Arcalas said while fishermen now are still able to catch a ludong or two during spawning season, there was no way to record the real data as fishermen, aware of the ban of catching ludong from October to November, do not report their catch or clandestinely sell the fish.
“But many fishermen just throw back ludong they accidentally catch, afraid of the hefty penalties,” he said.
BFAR Administrative Circular No. 247 declared Oct. 1 to Nov. 15 of every year as closed season for ludong. Offenders face imprisonment of six months and one day to eight years, a fine of P80,000, forfeiture of the catch and fishing equipment and revocation of fishing permit.
Breeding facility
The BFAR regional office in Cagayan Valley has also established a breeding facility in Claveria, Cagayan, where the agency keeps five pieces of live ludong. The agency has also established fish sanctuaries.
The fish, however, have yet to breed.
“Most initiatives, such as breeding in captivity to conserve and protect the species were not successful and some were never sustained due to limited stocks caught for experiment, limited budget, insufficient technology and facility, among others,” Dr. Evelyn Ame of BFAR Cagayan Valley said in a separate interview.
“To date, the ludong industry has not yet reached its full potential market due to limited wild stocks, [and the species] needs immediate protection and conservation,” she added.
Another economically significant species, bolidao (Mesopristes cancellatus), is a concern for fish conservationists.
Bolidao are amphidromous species which means they migrate between fresh and salt water at some point in their life cycle, but not for breeding.
Unlike ludong, bolidao is not listed as threatened species but also valued for its delicious flesh. A kilo of the fish costs from P1,200 to P1,500.
