Fishermen, Fishermen

                            Fishermen, Fishermen 

"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing 

that it is not fish they are after". - Henry David Thoreau

Dr Abe V Rotor

A School of Fish, painted by the author (left) for Fr. George Tabangcura (right) 2025.  Dr Abe V Rotor is a former professor at UST, DLSU-D, SPU-QC; Fr George Tabangcura has been recently assigned parish priest of Tagudin, Ilocos Sur, the author's maternal hometown.  Photo taken at the Living with Nature Center, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur.

Fishermen, millions of them throughout the world, earn their living from the sea, lakes and rivers, counterpart of farmers tilling the land, herding cattle on pasture, raising farm animals and poultry; 

Fishermen, through science and technology, have commercialized fishery into big business and industry, to provide the fast growing needs and affluence of the world's population, soon to reach ten billion; 

Fishermen, having virtually exhausted the rich fishing grounds, now convert shorelines and waterways into fishponds, build massive fish cages, cast miles-long seine nets in the open sea;  

Fishermen, through genetic engineering, have tamed the salmon by eliminating its migratory and homing instinct to be raised in captivity, so with the carp, trout and other transgenic or GMO fish;*

Fishermen may have discovered the lost Coelacanth, Jules Verne's giant squid, sunfish (Mola mola), kugtong or giant lapu-lapu, among others -yet humbled by the immensity and diversity of life;

Fishermen in Moby Dick, The Old Man and the Sea, The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish, and others, create imageries of reality and fantasy, including horror and fear in Jaws and Open Water; 

Fishermen have reached the boundaries of production on one hand, and ecology on the other, giving priority to short term huge gains at the expense of long term productivity for future generations;

Fishermen, themselves victims of environmental degradation, lead rehabilitation efforts to restore health of the marine ecosystem from destructive fishing, pollution, mangrove deforestation, and others;    

Fishermen, backed by environmental organizations like Greenpeace and UNEP,** and environmentalists like Cousteau and Al Gore, as well as local environmentalists, wake up to the call of environmental revolution;

Fishermen, among them are great men and women in the likes of Darwin, Einstein et al, who did not catch fish for the table, but great ideas that forever changed the world  and the way we live today; 

Fishermen in the bible, refer to Peter and Andrew, anointed by Christ as Fishers of Men, to spread the Word, the foundation of the church mission carried out by Paul of Tarsus, Vincent Ferrer, Schweitzer et al;

Fishermen, in the metaphor of The Shoes of the Fisherman inspire us all to be agents of justice, compassion, and solidarity, but more importantly today, to save Mother Earth from destruction from no one else but humans, her own disciples and guardians.

* Almost 35 species of fish have been genetically modified, e.g., trout, catfish, tilapia, and salmon. These are genetically engineered to grow fast, develop larger muscles, and tolerate temperature changes. These fish are being engineered to be better suited for industrial aquaculture.

** United Nations Environmental Program