Sustainable mussel farming benefit fishermen in Samar
TACLOBAN CITY – A group of fishermen have benefited from mussel long-line farming in Barangay Baclayan, Daram, Samar.
From being a seasonal source of income, it has become the primary and sustainable livelihood for 40 members of the Baclayan Mussel and Crab Fishers Association (BMCA).
In 2020, the Fisheries Coastal Resource and Livelihood (FishCORAL) project provided them with 240 rolls of PP rope, 4,000 plastic container jugs, 40 marine epoxy sets, 160 bags of cement, and 80 steel bars worth P2,051,120.
With the assistance they received, they installed 95 lines within the waters of the barangay, enabling them to earn P14,000 to P70,000 per cropping or a total of 524 sacks or 36.68 tons of green mussels annually worth P700,000.
BMCA also practices the use of coconut shells as spat collectors, a sustainable and beneficial method not only for the environment but also for coconut farmers who serve as their primary suppliers in the island.
Mussel farmers of BMCA said that they have used part of their earnings from their initial harvest to purchase additional long-line materials to increase their annual yield and upstart the mussel farming ventures of their families.
From being able to sustain their daily needs and investing in more long-line modules in mussel production, BMCA fishermen said that they can now afford to send their children to universities.
“We were able to make minor renovations in our houses while some of us were able to send our children to college," Paulino Cueso, BMCA president, said.
The BMCA has requested a floating guardhouse near their farms as thieves occasionally steal their product. They also want a better boat for seaborne patrol as illegal fishermen frequently intrude in their area and damage their long lines.
Although faced with these challenges, they hope that the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and other government agencies will support the expansion of their farms to enable them to have a dependable source of living for their community and lift the lives of more families in the island-municipality.