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    Dive To Live: A Commentary

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    Jereme Gonzales
    The document discusses the overexploitation of marine resources in the Philippines through large-scale commercial fishing and destructive practices like cyanide fishing. It focuses on the story of Lolo Pedro, a fisherman who turned to cyanide fishing as fish stocks declined due to the demands of businessmen selling aquarium fish. While this earns money in the short term, it has devastating long term impacts by depleting biodiversity and fish populations. The document argues that local communities and businesses must regulate fishing activities in a sustainable manner and return to traditional methods, while being protected from exploitation, in order to preserve livelihoods and the marine environment for future generations.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Dive To Live: A Commentary

    Uploaded by

    Jereme Gonzales
    86 views2 pages
    The document discusses the overexploitation of marine resources in the Philippines through large-scale commercial fishing and destructive practices like cyanide fishing. It focuses on the story of Lolo Pedro, a fisherman who turned to cyanide fishing as fish stocks declined due to the demands of businessmen selling aquarium fish. While this earns money in the short term, it has devastating long term impacts by depleting biodiversity and fish populations. The document argues that local communities and businesses must regulate fishing activities in a sustainable manner and return to traditional methods, while being protected from exploitation, in order to preserve livelihoods and the marine environment for future generations.

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    Activity 3-5-1

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    The document discusses the overexploitation of marine resources in the Philippines through large-scale commercial fishing and destructive practices like cyanide fishing. It focuses on the story of Lolo Pedro, a fisherman who turned to cyanide fishing as fish stocks declined due to the demands of businessmen selling aquarium fish. While this earns money in the short term, it has devastating long term impacts by depleting biodiversity and fish populations. The document argues that local communities and businesses must regulate fishing activities in a sustainable manner and return to traditional methods, while being protected from exploitation, in order to preserve livelihoods and the marine environment for future generations.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    86 views2 pages

    Dive To Live: A Commentary

    Uploaded by

    Jereme Gonzales
    The document discusses the overexploitation of marine resources in the Philippines through large-scale commercial fishing and destructive practices like cyanide fishing. It focuses on the story of Lolo Pedro, a fisherman who turned to cyanide fishing as fish stocks declined due to the demands of businessmen selling aquarium fish. While this earns money in the short term, it has devastating long term impacts by depleting biodiversity and fish populations. The document argues that local communities and businesses must regulate fishing activities in a sustainable manner and return to traditional methods, while being protected from exploitation, in order to preserve livelihoods and the marine environment for future generations.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Dive to Live

    Ang Dagat at Si Lolo Pedro – Dokumentaryo ni Kara David


    A Commentary

    Substances, energy, and marine space existing in marine environments are known as
    marine resources. Over time, these resources are gradually exploited and utilized by people
    including marine biological resources such as varieties of aquarium fishes. However, managing
    marine resources becomes complex due to its natural and social attributes. The exploitation of
    marine resources focuses on fishing and collection of marine living resources.

    Through the decades, over-exploitation on marine resources has existed that is passed on
    generations to generation brought by the fact that locals are used by bigger individuals to earn
    more money and this is the main source of income by locals. Before, the fishing of marine
    organisms specifically aquarium fishes was through fishing and “sisid”. Nonetheless, with the
    influence of modern technology and methods, they demonstrate highly mechanized and large
    scale impact in the marine ecosystem such as fishing with explosives.

    Devastatingly, failure of marine communities to regenerate within the effective cycle


    leads to the sharp reduction of marine species, the deterioration of living conditions, the gradual
    disappearance of rare species, the significant reduction of large-scale fisheries and the obvious
    decline or even depletion of fishery resources are the effects of large-scale fishing.

    Connectively, from diving and using compressors in fishing, Lolo Pedro and other
    fishermen resorted to destructive fishing method such as Sodium Cyanide due to little amount of
    aquarium fishes that they can have and due to influence by individuals selling the fishes in the
    market they use their first fishing method.

    Money is the root of all evil. In order to gain, some businessmen need to sacrifice
    something to gain reasonable results such as boosts in profit. In this case, greediness of the
    people exhausts the aquatic resources while making the poor work for their lust for money.
    Likewise, the greediness brought by people drawn in money brought infuriating consequences to
    poor communities and the aquatic resources such as what happened to Lolo Pedro and his family
    as well as the scarcity of aquatic resources.

    Pointedly, acquiring aquatic resources for a specific use in large amounts that bring large
    profit is just a short term exchange of the long term effects of scarcity of these resources and
    distraction of the aquatic environment. Coastal resources are very high biodiversity and include
    some of the richest and most fragile ecosystems on earth, like mangroves and coral reefs. At the
    same time, coasts are under very high population pressure due to rapid urbanization processes.

    ~1~
    Additionally, economic opportunities from coastal resources like that of the source of
    livelihood for locals post a threat when intensified by other interested parties such as
    businessmen. Selling aquatic fishes is not illegal but selling to the extent of exhaustion of the
    aquatic resources is greatly illegal and at the same time infamous. This demand, which responds
    to essential needs for economic growth, leads to a linear approach to coastal development.

    From Kara David’s documentary, it is a common dilemma to encounter that life is unfair
    especially to the poor. They worked hard risking their lives to earn a penny from thousands
    worth of sold items by opportunist businessmen. Being in the gutter, they can’t do anything they
    want even if the fact is oppressing. All they can do is dive to live. That is the deliberating
    dilemma between what is just and unjust. It is just that you work in order to survive; however, it
    is unjust because you’ve been used by the social stigma of poverty and held as perpetrators of the
    distraction of the aquatic ecosystem.

    In this interim, Lolo Pedro and other locals may not be able to cut the chain of poverty
    and tradition of catching their own pennies to provide for the needs of the family. They eat the
    baits of those who know the value of what is beneath the waters. In this case, if it is unable to
    eradicate the misconduct on besetting coastal communities, prevention is better than dying in
    starvation.

    Specifically, the locals as well as businesses can formulate plans and policies to alleviate
    the aquatic distraction and straighten their wrongdoings in exhausting the available resources.
    These policies must include strengthened advocacies with the government bodies to ensure that it
    is well followed and comprehended. Thus, the long term effect of their actions may be alleviated
    while earning at the same time. Enough is enough and too much is dangerous.

    Moreover, local fishers can resort to going back to traditional ways of fishing without
    using chemicals and making sure that no other aquatic resources are being distracted or ruined.
    In this case, they will not suffer the consequences that their environment will be lost from them
    as well as their source of living. Further, the area must be securely protected from greedy
    businessmen or individuals that don’t seek to protect but to benefit. Hence, we should advocate
    for a change. A change that replenishes the aquatic environment and protects the welfare and
    living of the coastal communities that gives a hope of tomorrow. It is a dream of a father to his
    child and through generations.

    It is in us that the environment depends to exist. Simple ways give a ripple of change
    such as maintaining the cleanliness of the ocean waters and traditional and not harmful practices.
    It starts within and ends with a purpose of empowerment.

    ~2~

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