Depleted areas into goldmines???

[clarionreef]

OK,
Its just gotta be a new thread.
The panel discussion got on the subject of depleted zones like the certified fish depot of Buhol [ that ships so many of its fish to China now]
It was pointed out what a goldmine it was of gobies and blennies that could serve like the last scrapings on the bottom of the barrel and earn a few pesos more for the divers.
Unbeknown to our good news reporter...the shipping would hardly be cost effective as Luzon already brings that stuff in with just a few hours overland to Manila.
ANY sandy areas between reefs depleted or otherwise has sandsifters in it. So...the ones closer [and hence cheaper] to Manila are selected for.
An area as depleted as the one in question is not a goldmine for anyone except insensitive and out of touch city people on paid for picnics.
The poverty in the Buhol regions from the destructive fishing practices that wasted the once bountiful Danajon Bank...is rather grim.
A pioneer in cyanide fishing Andy Eyas singlehandedly ruined the fabric of many reefs and many lives there and distributed tons of sodium cyanide thru his company thruout the area for many years...often to children.
As the end game nears on these devastated reef, MAC spin doctors and Eyas admirers should show more respect.
Fellow panel members chafed under the insensitivity of the dialogue and chastised me for holding back.
Sorry guys. I just wanted to pick my spots and there were just so many!
Sincerely, Steve

 

[horge]

It was pointed out what a goldmine it was of gobies and blennies that could serve like the last scrapings on the bottom of the barrel and earn a few pesos more for the divers.

Manong Teban,

Yes.
That'd be a bit like observing an orphanage burning down, and then marvelling at how much money could be made on selling the charcoal and cadavers.



h

 

[clarionreef]

I'm sorry Horge,
Please forgive my people.
When they're on vacation they are so happy just to pass thru and marvel at the coconut trees and smiling children.
If they had to stay a year and make money like a poor fisherman with their own hands they wouldn't be so cavalier and flippant.
Struggling and enduring as many fisherfolk do is a marvel of human spirit and character.
To suggest that they miss the riches underfoot for lack of a great white hope pointing out something so simple is galling I'm sure.
But please consider the source. When you send tourists you get tourists. They ment no harm. They just weren't what is called for thats all.
Dealing with poor fisherman is the kind of work for people who don't find it novel. If you don't sleep on bamboo floors and eat malungai, why would you even be there?
Sincerely, Esteban

 

[Anonymous]

Just can't stop pointing fingers can you? :roll:

 

[clarionreef]

Lee,
Listen to the locals a bit more.
You haven't had the opportunity I relize, but theres a whole new demension to this saga and you owe it to yourself to do this.
In other circles, a minority opinion becomes a majority opinion!
Steve

 

[Anonymous]

In other circles, a minority opinion becomes a majority opinion!

Isn't that the way politics usually works? Money allows the few to trample the many. Look at the reassignment of the tax base that has been going on in the U.S.

 

[clarionreef]

couldn't agree more!
Steve

 

[clarionreef]

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS INDEED,
It seems to me that niether marine environmental people nor aquarium people understand each other that well...and are naturally at odds.
The aquirer vs. the 'leave it alone' thing.
Add to the mix a social conscience and it becomes volitile.
One thing is for sure....if motives are purely financial, people can MORE OFTEN come to terms.
Reaching consensus in business deals, proposals, salary disputes and job descriptions is so much simpler then when its not about money.
Math and reaching financial accord is more of an exact science then reaching 'value judgement accord' and 'social-environmental welfare accord'.
Asian environmental thinkers filter our trade thru different material then we do and often they have a better notion of whats true and what works.
The cultural disparity among many players in many of the issues are heating up as local people become more involved. There are notions unbeknownst to us of 'eco-imperialism,'' top down' [w/ derisive smile] and 'foreign based values 'trying to force fit 'foreign solutions.'
You may hire a local to work for your world view...but the ones you cannot may be excused for not seeing it your way.
An eco/social nationalism is rising all over the 'developing' world and they have some things to say as well. For an American to advance those things may seem odd to home-bound Americans, but to walk in others shoes and to see it as locals do may cause 'misunderstanding'. Tribalism comes in all colors, including white and we need to recognize it.
Local control of the resource and the regulation of it is coming, like it or not. A popular opinion in a village may be unpopular on RDO...and vice versa.
Insisting on the American way...the way we most understand, has met with resistance. If Japan tried to impose their environmental ethic on us with a lot of Japanese funding, I imagine we would be some of the most obstinate people they have ever met!
Steve