Reconsidering Blast Fishing within a World System: Civil War and Economic Development in the Southern Philippines

Jun Akamine

open access ； global commons ； IUU fishing ； plantation economy ； civil war

中國飲食文化

9卷1期（2013 / 04 / 01）

77 - 111

英文

Coral reefs foster marine biodiversity and are an important part of the 'common heritage of mankind'. However, many coral reefs throughout the world are facing deterioration or destruction. One of the main causes is blast fishing. It is a common fishing method carried out in the southern portion of the South China Sea. This paper examines the socio-economical and socio-political history of the blast fishing industry in the Spratly Islands with reference to the dried fish industry in the southern Philippines. The paper describes not only fisheries but also their background and discusses why and how they have developed in the context of Philippine history. For this purpose, commodity flows are examined in particular: what kind of fish is targeted and how and who consumes the catch. For example, the catch from blast fishing is often limited to Caesio spp. The catch is processed into salt-preserved dried fish, and the dried product is shipped and traded on Mindanao Island where the inland plantations owned by global agro-capitalists produce dollar-earning crops such as coconut, banana, and pineapple. Furthermore, the blast-fishermen also occupy a low social status in the Philippines. They are refugees from the conflicts in the 1970s between the Muslim rebels and the central government dominated by Christians. Blast fishing in the southern Philippines is a negative legacy created through nation building in the Republic of the Philippines, the struggle against colonialism, and economic development of Mindanao in the contemporary Philippines.

1. Wakano, Y. n.d. Records of Travel around Manado and Bunaken, May 2003, accessed on July 27, 2011 from http://joefs.mind.meiji.ac.jp/~joe/travel3/ travel3-2.html.
2. Akamine, Jun(2006).Who Is to Be Blamed? Socio-cultural Notes on Blast Fishing in the Spratly Islands.Proceedings of the 10th International Coral Reef Symposium,Tokyo:
3. Akamine, Jun(2001).Holothurian Exploitation in the Philippines: Continuities and Discontinuities.TROPICS,10(4),591-607.
4. Blanchetti-Revelli, L.(1993).Masigpit and Mamuno: War, Resettlement and Ethnic Dynamics in the Formation of Some Samal Migrant Communities in Balabac.Pilipinas,21,29-50.
5. Che Man, W.K.(1990).Muslim Separatism: The Moros of Southern Philippines and the Malays of Southern Thailand.Quezon City:Ateneo de Manila Press.
6. Erdmann, M. V.,Pet-Soede, L.(1998).B6+M3=DFP; An Overview of Destructive Fishing Practices in Indonesia.Proceedings of the APEC Workshop on the Impacts of Destructive Fishing Practices on the Marine Environment,Hong Kong:
7. Fox, H. E.,Erdmann, M. V.(2000).Fish Yields from Blast Fishing in Indonesia.Coral Reefs,19,114.
8. George, T.J.S.(1980).Revolt in Mindanao: The Rise of Islam in Philippine Politics.Kuala Lumpur:Oxford University Press.
9. Gowing, P.G.(1979).Muslim Filipinos: Heritage and Horizon.Quezon City:New Day Publishing.
10. Gowing, P.G.(ed.),McAmis, R.D.(ed.)(1974).The Muslim Filipinos: Their History, Society and Contemporary Problems.Manila:Solidaridad Publishing House.
11. Majul, C.A.(1985).The Contemporary Muslim Movement in the Philippines.Berkeley:Mizan Press.
12. Majul, C.A.(1999).Muslims in the Philippines.Quezon City:University of the Philippines Press.
13. McKenna, T.M.(1998).Muslim Rulers and Rebels: Everyday Politics and Armed Separatism in the Southern Philippines.Berkeley:University of California Press.
14. McManus, J. W.(1997).Tropical Marine Fisheries and the Future of Coral Reefs: A Brief Review with Emphasis on Southeast Asia.Coral Reefs,16(S.),121-127.
15. Nagatsu, K.(1999).Sama Dilaut and Blasting Fishing: A View on Coral Reef Conservation.Letters,37,1-7.
16. Nakahara, S.(1988).Introduction to Explosives.Tokyo:Sangyo Tosho.
17. Nimmo, A. H.(1986).Recent Population Movements in the Sulu Archipelago: Implications to Sama Culture History.Archipel,32,25-38.
18. Nimmo, A. H.(1968).Reflections on Bajau History.Philippine Studies,16,32-59.
19. Pet-Soede, C.(1999).An Economic Analysis of Blast Fishing on Indonesian Reefs.Environmental Conservation,26(2),83-93.
20. Pet-Soede, L.,Erdmann, M. V.(1998).Blast Fishing in Southwest Sulawesi, Indonesia.Naga,1998(April-June),4-9.
21. Sather, C.(1997).The Bajau Laut: Adaptation, History, and Fate in a Maritime Fishing Society of South-Eastern Sabah.Kuala Lumpur:Oxford University Press.
22. Sopher, D.(1977).The Sea Nomads: A Study of the Maritime Boat People of the Southeast Asia.Singapore:National Museum Singapore.
23. Vandermeer, J.,Perfecto, I.(2005).Breakfast of Biodiversity: The Political Ecology of Rain Forest Destruction.Oakland, CA:Food First Books.
24. Wallerstein, I.(1974).The Modern World-System, vol. I: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century.New York:Academic Press.
25. Wallerstein, I.(1980).The Modern World-System, vol. II: Mercantilism and the Consolidation of the European World-Economy, 1600-1750.New York:Academic Press.