As the saying goes, "if you can't beat them, join them." This, in a sense, is the travail of small-time fisherfolk circling off the Macajalar Bay in Cagayan de Oro. In the so-called "tamban (sardine fish) season," which traditionally starts in the summer month of May and culminate either in June or any month of the year, the festive catch of the seasonal fish of the herring family can be attributed to the dangerous life at sea, fueled by mismatch rivalry opposite "sensoro" and "tapay-tapay" (modernized big fishing boats) -- a survival in an endless fight against poverty.

Salgados, L. (2020, June 8). Small-time ‘mananagat’ learns how to survive. SunStar, p. 1, 2.