BRIDGING THE GAP
Japanese influence on WV's fishing industry before WWII
Prior to the onset of World War II, there were already Japanese in the various parts of Wetern Visayas. In Panay, along with the Japanese merchants and entreprenuers, came numerous fishermen, most of whom were from Okinawa (Mabunay 1979). The entrance of the increasing numberof Japanese immigrants into the country during this time was partly due to the American discriminatory policy against Oriental immigration into the United States that began since 1924, and which coincided with the peak of Iloilo and Negros Occidental's "sugar-based" prosperity.
In the 1920s and the 1930s, the gradual penetration of these Japanese immigrants into the local fishing industry was already felt. Unlike the Americans, the Japanese were more knowledgeable and more industrious in dedicating themselves to catching fish in the high seas (Palma 1972). Like their counterparts in Manila and Davao who operated trap net fishing outfits, the Japanese fishermen in the region operated in nearby coastal and deep-sea waters not previously exploited by local fishermen (Martin 1963). Aside from operating trawlers, they also engaged in commercial-scale reef fishing (muro-ami) through the use of the drive-in net or the Japanese trap net. Fishing was done by first encircling one side of the reef with a net. On the other side, other fishermen scare away the fish by slapping a piece of bamboo on the water. In the process of escaping, the fish swim towards the net and get caught. Considering that their system of catching fish was more advanced than that of the Filipinos, they were put on an advantage and gained substantial profit.
In order to further penetrate the fishing industry, a Japanese by the name of Izoo Takaezu initiated the formation of the Iloilo Fishing Corp. and this was composed not only of Japanese but also of Filipinos, specifically the fish brokers or komisyonistas. The latter's contribution was in the form of motorized fishing boats which they had been operating.
While the formation of the corporation was supposed to allow greater participation, it was found out that only a handful of Filipinos were involved in the Japanese fishing operations. They were primarily boat-carpenters and mechanics (Mabunay 1979). Also, it was clear that the local members were at the same time used as fronts with some of the Japanese-owned boats being registered in their names. This was probably a protective move of the Japanese considering the restriction imposed by the American colonial government to limit foreigners' participation in the local fishing industry.
Despite the official restriction, however, by the 1930s, the Japanese fishermen constituted the largest single category of Japanese residents numbering to 172 in Iloilo. They had reached, not only the fishing grounds around the offshore islands in the northeast of Iloilo, but also in Negros, Masbate and Cebu. They also established fishing stations in Concepcion, specifically in Barrio Pulopina, in the island of Pan de Azucar (Mabunay 1979).
It is considered that the artificial breeding of ducks and fish is the Japanese's greatest economic legacy to the Ilonggos and to the Filipinos, in general. As pointed out by Liao 1935), "the greatest part of the Japanese industries which they taught the natives was the breeding of ducks and fish for export. The rivers and coastal waters of the archipelago provided splendid feeding ground for numerous varieties of fish. The Japanese assisted nature's breeding process in a manner followed by present-day experts."