Allowing Kids to Experience life of Fisherfolks

When I was young, me and my family used to go to the sea not for leisure but for food. My father would catch some fishes through fish nets and fish hooks and also get some small octopi through the octopi holes. On the other hand, me and my mother would go under the mangrove trees and look under the sea rocks to search for edible seashells. We were very happy that at the end of the day, we can get almost a small pail of seashells and we have fishes enough for the next 2 meals.

For many years, I have not tried doing the same thing, and now, I now have my own kids, I want them to experience the same things we enjoyed before.

Last weekend, we got the chance to do so. We went to the seashore that we usually go long time ago. When I got there, I was surprised because I cannot remember the place anymore. The place changed, there were already many houses around that area but I am glad that at least the mangroves were still there.

When we arrived, it was high tide and the area in the picture above was full of water. We had the hard time carrying our stuff. When we already settled our things, the kids enjoyed the swimming time. It was also timely that my father brought his paddled banca/boat and allowed the kids to ride on it. My husband and eldest son tried to catch fish while boating but when they went back there was no catch at all.

Hours later, it became low tide and I brought the kids under the mangrove trees to look for seashells. We saw a few small seashells and collected them. I cannot go the inner most parts of the mangrove trees because I was carrying a baby. We were still happy that we got almost a glass of seashells enough for at least a soup of seashells in the night.

My husband taught my kids how to catch fish through the use of fishing rod. They enjoyed the experience though they were not able to catch any fish at all.

Talking to the locals, they said the supply of seafoods changed through time. Fisherfolks could rarely get a good catch of fishes in the area because resources became scarce. The seashells became smaller in number and size as well. This may be brought by the over exploitation and changes in the place. Some of the mangrove trees were cut down to give place to the houses and even shrimp ponds.

Nevertheless, we were happy about our experience. The kids were happy that they tried what we have done when we were still young. They have time to explore the area, looking for crabs, fishes and other sea creatures. They got to appreciate the value of working for them to get food to eat. We went home early in the afternoon while the sea was still in low tide to prevent the experience we had earlier.

This experience allowed me to reminisce the past and let the present generation experience it.

Have a great day everyone and keep safe!

~MizLhaine

01.13.2022