The Demo Site

Capiz isn't the Seafood Capital of the Philippines for nothing!Not only is it surrounded by the Visayan Sea that provides the people everyday with tons of seafoods like marlins, lapu-lapu, huge squids. etc; the province is also dotted with hectares of Fish/ Prawn/ King Crab ponds. There were days when pond owners would rake a lot of money from their prawn harvests. Now, with the attack of the White Spot Virus on prawns and the emergence of fake baby king crabs, the owners have focused more into Bangus or Bangrus in the local dialect. Not surprisingly, Bangrus is also the Philippine National Fish. Although, there are still those who gamble and succeed on prawns and king crabs.

Preparations are usually done before the harvest day itself. The harvest is commonly scheduled at a very low tide , around 00 meters to the negatives, to completely dry up the pond and catch the jumping Bangrus with the giant nets, or "lambat" in Ilonggo. Blocks of ice must also be ready together with boxes to contain the Bangrus during transportation to the buyers.Wide and long plastics are essential in covering the Bangrus during transportation to prevent the surrounding air from melting the ice, which keeps the fish fresh. A small truck is often needed to transport the Bangrus. Supplies of coffee, rice, and viand are also needed for the additional hands that will help in the harvest.

These are equally important ways of transport in a fishpond- the "baroto" (small boat) and the "balsa" (bamboo raft). From the heavy blocks of ice to boxes of fresh bangrus produce, these humble water vehicles certainly deliver.

Here, after releasing water out of the PAMUERTA (water outlet/ inlet) into the irrigation, the Bangrus are gathered using this gigantic lambat .

Then, as the Bangrus are gathered, they struggle to get out of the net. This is a very dangerous stage since the Bangrus are such strong swimmers and jumpers that if one hits you, lacerations and bruises are likely to result.

The use of a box as a head gear is to protect the face, especially the eyes, from the Bangrus.

The Bangrus are then poured into this gigantic tub partially filled with cold water and ice. The low temperature kills the Bangrus.

Boxes of Bangrus are carried a short distance to where the "baroto" and "balsa" are waiting.

Finally, the Bangrus will be transported to the buyers.