Fishermen from the town of Claveria in the province of Cagayan have found a way to increase their catch and at the same time lessen fishing expenses. For the past couple of months, the fishers were able to have a total catch of more than 8 metric tons, thanks to a fish aggregating device (FAD) called "payao" installed by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Region 2. “Previously, we have to scour the fishing ground for long hours and farther away before we can catch anything. Now we just go near the Payao, fish for about four hours and be able to catch around 20 kilos on good days, for seasoned fishers it’s 40 to 50 kilos,” Arsenio dela Peña, president of the 180-member Claveria Fisherfolk Federation happily relates.

Prudencio, M. (2010, September 25). Payao increases fishers' catch, income. Manila Bulletin, p. B-6.