LET’S SAVE THE ENDEMIC PIJANGA FISH IN LAKE MAINIT
LET’S SAVE THE ENDEMIC PIJANGA FISH IN LAKE MAINIT
It is an old story that keeps coming back, and it never ends well. Man destroys a lake, an endemic species disappears, and with it goes the livelihood of everyone who depends on that lake. Today, that story is unfolding once again in Lake Mainit — this time with the slow, painful decline of the pijanga.
Pijanga (Glossogobius giuris) is not just another fish. For the people of Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Norte, it is food on the table, cash in the pocket, and part of their everyday culture. Along the highway from Butuan to Surigao, motorists buy dried pijanga “by the piece,” a reminder that the lake is not just scenery — it is survival.
But survival is now in question.
A recent stock assessment presented by BFAR-Caraga paints a disturbing picture. From a peak catch of about 373 metric tons in 2016 and 2019, total landings fell to about 260 metric tons by 2024 — a decline of more than 30 percent. Worse, there are no signs of recovery. Even more alarming is the biological data: only 18 to 34 percent of the catch in recent years has reached reproductive maturity. That means most of the fish being pulled out of the lake have not even had a chance to reproduce.
This is textbook overfishing.
Veteran fishermen now catch in one trip what they used to catch in just a few throws of the net two decades ago. From 90 kilos per trip in 2008, some now bring home barely 20 kilos. The number of fishers has grown, fishing gears have multiplied, and enforcement has struggled to keep pace. The result is obvious: too many nets chasing too few fish in a lake that, no matter how deep, is still finite.
So I ask: when shall we ever learn?
If overfishing is the problem, why are closed seasons not being seriously enforced? If illegal fishing is rampant, why not immediately augment BFAR’s manpower with the Philippine National Police and the Coast Guard? If juvenile fish dominate the catch, why are size limits not being strictly policed at landing sites and public markets?
Time is ticking. This is no longer a problem of “someday.” Every small pijanga caught today is one adult spawner lost tomorrow.
I commend the local media for sounding the alarm early. Awareness is the first step. But awareness without decisive action is just noise. Are we really content with slow, piecemeal responses while a species found only in Lake Mainit quietly slides toward collapse?
Let us be clear: if pijanga disappears, no amount of money, hatcheries, or technology can ever truly bring it back as an endemic species. Extinction is permanent.
What should be done now — not tomorrow, not after another study?
First, impose an immediate seasonal fishing closure strictly based on scientific spawning periods. Second, enforce minimum size limits with zero political interference. Third, declare core fish sanctuaries within Lake Mainit where no fishing is allowed, ever. Fourth, regulate the number and type of fishing gears. Thirty-six types of gear in one lake is ecological madness. And finally, involve the communities not just as fishers, but as guardians of their own future.
Saving pijanga is not just about saving a fish. It is about saving jobs, food security, culture, and ecological balance. It is about whether we are capable, at last, of learning from our own mistakes.
If we fail this test, future generations will only know pijanga from old photos, newspaper archives — and our excuses.
And that, to me, would be the greatest tragedy of all.
BY RAMON IKE V. SENERES
www.facebook.com/ike.seneres iseneres@yahoo.com senseneres.blogspot.com 09088877282/10-22-2026