What used to be a pest in Laguna Lake for decades is now being targeted as a source of livelihood for some fisherfolks and their dependents.
The knifefish (or Chitala ornata), a silver-colored fish with a shape like a knife and has a series of black dots that runs from its belly up to the base of its tail, is now being envisioned to give fishermen additional income because of its commercial viability.
In Tanay, Rizal, the town’s chief agriculturist Romeo Cruz said the knifefish, which has long been a menace for fishermen, is now giving additional income for some as its market has reached food processors in Malabon City.
Cruz told Manila Bulletin that a kilo of knifefish, which used to sell at P20 to P30 a few years ago, is now being bought by Malabon fish dealers for P50, from local fishermen.
These fish dealers would buy around 250 kilos of knifefish every day from Tanay fishermen, with their trucks stationed at the shore of the lake waiting for the fishermen to unload their catch.
Cruz revealed that the demand for more knifefishes has made its shore price to increase. This kind of freshwater fish is the main ingredient in making fish balls, fish embotido, and fish nuggets.
Some fishermen have now shifted their focus from catching tilapia and bangus in the open water before to catching knifefishes now, because of the growing demand by the Malabon traders.
The demand for knifefish has prompted the local government, through the Municipal Agriculture Office, to introduce training on fish processing including deboning of knifefish to the town’s women sector.
The training, which made possible in coordination with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, aims to empower the women sector including the dependents of fisherfolks with various know-how on fish processing, thus helping them in surviving amid the pandemic.
Since last year’s devastation of Typhoon Ulysses, the small fishermen, comprising some 60 percent of those dependent on Laguna Lake, have yet to recover from their losses as their boats and fishing gears were destroyed.
However, Cruz said even with the training and techniques on food processing that could help the women sector for their livelihood, initial capitalization would still be needed in order for the program to succeed.
“That is why we are appealing to the private sector to help us realize our aim of helping our fellow residents who have been badly affected by the pandemic, including our fisherfolks and their dependents, through livelihood program from fish processing," he said.
Cruz said a Thai restaurant has already signified its intention to buy deboned knifefishes from the fishermen but the limited capacity to meet the demand is currently the problem.
Knifefishes have been regarded as a pest in Laguna Lake as each regular size of the fish can consume some seven kilos of tilapia and bangus fingerlings in a day alone.