Like I mentioned in the previous blog, my kids and I (along with their 2 cousins and my sister-in-law), did go "shrimping" (sorry, not sure if there is such a word) one night while we were there. Basically, catching shrimp using a tried and true, local fishing contraption (sort of like a large scoop net) called a sudsud it means wading along the sandy/semi-muddy seashore up at waist-deep, sometimes chest-deep, water pushing or dragging the sudsud in front of you for 10-15minutes or so then pulling it up to see what you caught then continuing the same process (for us, we only did 2 hours, 6-8pm - the locals obviously can go about this the whole night and go farther away than we did that evening). We got a friendly local fisherman to teach us how it's done, allowed us to try it 2-3 times, and then basically did the fishing for us while we walked behind him talking about things, bonding, enjoying the cool sea air and looking/checking on his catch.
Trivia: The Butandings just eat plankton - tiny microscopic plants and animals - that they filter through their gills and into their tummies. Yes, they are not predators and therefore harmless (hence called gentle giants). Among the plankton would be eggs and fry (tiny babies) of various fishes and whatever else swims or lives in the oceans - i guess some of the fry grew up to be what we caught...
Another trivia: some of the plankton have their own bio-luminiscence (i.e. they can glow in the dark when disturbed) - the kids certainly were amazed at this and delighted every time our sudsud caused some to light up the water around us.
What did we catch? Well, the sudsud was meant to catch shrimp and catch them we did - 4 different kinds. Some bigger shrimp were seen jumping out of the water trying to avoid the net and did you know that the shrimp eyes glow in the water when light (from the fisherman's flashlight) is shone upon them? We were told that on certain times of the month and if you're lucky, you could catch really big shrimp (ie prawns). We also caught a few small fish and baby fish (the bigger fish can easily swim away from the net) - at least 5 different small fishes and at least 3 different kinds of baby flatfish (some are called flounder or soles; in tagalog, they are called dapa). We caught a small eel, 3 different kinds of baby cuttlefish, one type of squid and several baby and small octupus, and 4 different kinds of crab - one of which we saw for the first time (the kids have been to many different beaches, ranging from white, brown even black sands. They were amazed to see this new crab).
It was a visual delight for the kids as they saw all sorts of species. It was also a hands-on experience as we asked them to get the catch with their own hands and sort them - all the baby fishes, baby octopus and baby crabs to be put back into the water and the ones to be kept for cooking to be put in our catch-box. The kids initially were squeamish about it, using just 2 fingers (and dropping a few of our catch in the process back into the sea) and then later on using the whole hands to gently pick and sort the catch. So, fishing with traditional method in the dark of night with only a flashlight but with family or friends, experiencing the cooling waters and the sea-breeze, catching all sorts of things and getting to touch them even - i'd say the kids very much enjoyed it (as did I). So, if you have a budding field biologist or want to encourage an appreciation of nature and animal diversity or even get your kids to appreciate how hard and tiring it can be to catch your next meal or catch enough to earn a livelihood, at P300 for 2 hours, I'd say very much worth it!
Tip: if you're going shrimping, make sure you're wearing strong sturdy slippers or, better yet, surf shoes. You'll be wading ang walking on soft sand sometimes mixed with mud so slippers are likely to get stuck. There are also shells and sharp stones on the seafloor so best not to walk on barefoot. We also caught a single sea-urchin which caused some concern. The solution - we all made sure to walk right behind the sudsud so that we avoid stepping on such things (although we didn't catch anymore sea-urchins after that individual one)
Let's see - Whaleshark excursion, firefly tour, then shrimping - what else? Well, we did go to the grotto - it's a small shrine up a hill built by a local lady sometime back in dedication to Mama Mary. To get there, you hire a tricycle (P250 for round trip good for 4-5people - i can give the name and contact no. of Freddie, our tricycle driver if needed) which will take a 15-20 minute ride uphill past Donsol town, then you go trekking down a ravine and up the hill on a cemented stairway (the kids counted a total of 428 steps). It's become sort of a pilgrimage site for locals because there are stations of the cross along the way and the shrine up on top (supposedly going 428 step becomes your act of penitence, hehe - not too tiring in my view) so during holy week, it could become crowded. On other days, minimal or no people at all. For a nature lover and birdwatcher like me, a very interesting place - something I will definitely find more time for on my next visit.
For the divers out there, Amor resort (and i guess the other resorts) offer trips to go diving and seeing large manta rays (yes, they also eat plankton!). Am not a diver (yet!) so did not ask how much it would cost. Am sure there are other diving spots in and around the place!
Other than the island hopping and tours outside of Donsol i mentioned in Blog 1, that's about it. Donsol reverts back to a small, sleepy town after the month of May- most people look for work outside during the lean months or go back to fishing and/or farming...
Now, I suppose the local people have only started to reap the benefits of tourism and they have focused a lot on the Butandings for which they should be proud of and continue to monitor and protect. Another activity which they could focus on (and earn some tourist income) could be fishing - i mean the soup of plankton which obviously attracts the whalesharks in large numbers will also attract the small fishes that also eat plankton. The small fish in turn get eaten by the bigger fish and even bigger fish which keen fishermen would be willing to pay for. I myself would be willing to pay for a banca and go out there in known fishing spots even with just a handline in the hopes of catching sizeable mackerel, tuna, or jacks. Maybe a Donsoleno (or any enterprising Bicolano out there) could look into this? I guess the locals need to regulate this (i.e. during specific months, using rod and reel or handlines only and with catch limits for certain species - maybe even catch-and-release) to ensure no overfishing takes place and there is limited impact on the environment
My sister-in-law, who's also keen about fishing, saw a small boy casting a handline from the shore - she borrowed the handline, got the sandworms used as bait and started casting. She was able to catch a number of fish (mostly asohos as they are called in tagalog), which are small but, if she had spent more time and had enough bait she could have caught enough to have good fish stew.
The fact that we caught a number of baby flatfish the night before would indicate larger, adult flatfish that like to crunch on the shrimp and crabs on the seafloor -and would make good fishing with the right surf-casting equipment.
And so ends my series on the Butandings and Donsol
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| Sunset at Donsol Beach |
p.s. Thanks for viewing!
