HAGONOY, Bulacan — After days of heavy rain disrupted daily life across flood-prone areas of Bulacan, small-scale fishers in Hagonoy were once again seen unloading fresh catch at the Hagonoy Public Market on Saturday, August 22 — a modest sign of normalcy returning to one of the province’s most fisheries-dependent communities.
Photos published by the Daily Tribune showed local fishermen busy moving their catch after generally fairer weather allowed fishing activities to resume.
But behind that seemingly ordinary market scene is a much bigger story.
For many families in coastal Bulacan, a few days without fishing can mean days without regular income. And the latest round of bad weather came as Hagonoy and neighboring communities were already dealing with widespread flooding triggered by the southwest monsoon, or habagat, combined with high tides.
Just days before the fishermen returned to the market, ABS-CBN reported that 14 cities and municipalities in Bulacan remained affected by flooding, with persistent rains and high tide making conditions worse in low-lying communities.
In Hagonoy alone, thousands of residents recently required relief assistance. GMA News reported that 5,200 flood-affected residents in Hagonoy received food packs after habagat inundated communities in the municipality.
Weather May Improve, But Flood Risk Remains
The return of clearer skies does not necessarily mean the danger has disappeared.
PAGASA continued to identify the southwest monsoon as an active weather system on August 22, while its flood-monitoring information placed the Pampanga River Basin — which influences large parts of Central Luzon — under flood watch.
For fishing communities, repeated rain events can create a double burden.
Rough seas and dangerous weather may keep boats ashore, cutting income immediately. Flooding can then disrupt roads, markets, fish transport, ice supplies and other parts of the chain that fishermen depend on even after they return from the water.
Philippine Fisheries Output Is Growing — At Least on Paper
The Hagonoy fishermen’s return also comes amid encouraging national production figures.
The Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources said Philippine fisheries production rose 2 percent in the second quarter of 2026 to approximately 1.03 million metric tons, with higher output recorded in both municipal and commercial fisheries.
That national increase, however, does not mean every small fisher is earning more.
Municipal fishermen — usually operating smaller boats close to shore — remain especially vulnerable to fuel prices, extreme weather, illegal fishing and competition for already pressured fishing grounds.
Earlier in 2026, some fisherfolk from Manila Bay and Laguna de Bay even joined protests over rising fuel prices, saying the cost of operating fishing boats was eating into already thin daily earnings.
The government has responded in part through financial assistance programs. In Bicol, for example, more than 22,000 fisherfolk received ₱51.8 million in cash assistance this August under the Presidential Assistance for Farmers and Fisherfolk program.
Yet fisherfolk groups have repeatedly argued that financial aid alone cannot solve deeper structural problems facing the sector.
A Bigger Battle Over Municipal Fishing Grounds
One of the biggest issues is who gets to fish in waters closest to coastal communities.
Municipal waters — generally extending up to 15 kilometers from the shoreline — have traditionally served as vital fishing grounds for small-scale fishermen.
But fisherfolk organizations have long complained about commercial fishing vessels entering areas relied upon by municipal fishers.
That debate intensified this month after the Supreme Court struck down a regulation requiring commercial fishing vessels to continuously transmit their locations and electronically report catches.
Small-scale fishing groups and marine scientists have warned that losing continuous vessel tracking could make it more difficult to detect commercial fishing vessels entering municipal waters.
The Department of Agriculture and BFAR are challenging the ruling.
Agriculture officials have argued that vessel monitoring is one of the country’s most effective tools against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and have sought reconsideration of the decision.
The issue matters directly to communities like Hagonoy.
A fisherman who loses several days of work because of storms must still compete for enough catch when the weather finally improves. If fish stocks decline or larger vessels gain greater access to productive waters, the number of days spent at sea may matter less than how much fish remains available when fishermen get there.
Illegal Fishing Costs the Country Billions
Illegal fishing is not a marginal problem.
The Department of Agriculture said illegal and unregulated fishing drains more than ₱5.3 billion from the Philippine economy annually, according to figures cited during the launch of a community reporting center in Palawan earlier this month.
The program is designed to let fishermen and coastal residents directly report suspicious fishing activity so authorities can respond faster.
It reflects an increasingly important idea in fisheries management: small fishermen are not only livelihood beneficiaries — they are often the people physically present in coastal waters and therefore among the first to see illegal activity.
Climate Pressure Is Especially Visible in Coastal Bulacan
The vulnerability of communities around Hagonoy is also connected to a much longer-term environmental problem.
Coastal Bulacan is among the Philippine areas facing severe land subsidence, or gradual sinking of the ground.
A previous report cited research indicating that parts of Bulacan have been sinking by almost 11 centimeters per year, with excessive groundwater extraction identified as a major driver. Rising sea levels compound the danger for low-lying coastal settlements.
For communities already accustomed to high tides, heavier rainfall and recurring floods, land subsidence can make ordinary weather events progressively more disruptive.
That means scenes of fishermen returning to the market after several rainy days may become increasingly important.
They show resilience — but they also reveal how fragile that livelihood can be.
More Than Just a Catch of the Day
At first glance, fishermen unloading baskets of fish at Hagonoy Public Market is simply another Saturday morning in a coastal town.
But for families whose income disappears whenever weather makes fishing unsafe, returning to the sea carries much greater significance.
Philippine fisheries production may be rising nationally, and government assistance continues to reach thousands of fishermen.
Still, the realities facing small-scale fishing communities are becoming more complicated: recurring floods, rising operational costs, illegal fishing, disputed access to municipal waters and environmental changes that may reshape entire coastlines.
So while the return of Hagonoy’s fishermen is welcome news, the real question is not simply whether they can sail again tomorrow.
It is whether small fishermen will still be able to earn enough from the waters they have depended on for generations.
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