AYEJ Newsroom

Where the water once fed us: As Navotas' tahungan disappears, fisherfolk adapt to keep their way of life afloat

Bamboo tahungan once lined Manila Bay, supporting generations of Navotas mussel farmers like Arvin Escarial. A 500-hectare reclamation project has demolished them, leaving fisherfolk to fight for what remains.

By Ace Russell C. Pizarro 7 min read

Where the water once fed us: As Navotas' tahungan disappears, fisherfolk adapt to keep their way of life afloat

September 12, 2026
A decade after Yolanda, can one man's mangrove forest survive a highway?
For over a decade, Roque Regis has helped restore Tacloban's Paraiso mangroves after Super Typhoon Yolanda. Now a proposed causeway project threatens the water flow that keeps the sanctuary alive.
By Dorothy Globio Fabian 6 min read
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September 12, 2026
Fifty years on Zambales waters, and Belty Amlog has watched the catch grow thin
Dynamite and cyanide fishing have left over 90% of Zambales' reefs threatened, costing the Philippines billions annually. Fisherman Belty Amlog, 74, says the destruction is now emptying his own nets.
By Rose Ann Amlog 6 min read
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Hope

Where the water once fed us: As Navotas' tahungan disappears, fisherfolk adapt to keep their way of life afloat

A decade after Yolanda, can one man's mangrove forest survive a highway?

Fifty years on Zambales waters, and Belty Amlog has watched the catch grow thin

A decade after Yolanda, can one man's mangrove forest survive a highway?

Fifty years on Zambales waters, and Belty Amlog has watched the catch grow thin