Fishermen’s Migration Amidst Depleting Seas: A History of Fishers’ Migration from Calatrava, Negros Occidental to Miagao, Iloilo (1961‒1995)

Abstract

This study examines the history of fishers’ migration from a fishing community in Barangay San Isidro, Calatrava, Negros Occidental to Barangay Baybay Norte, Miagao, Iloilo, from 1961 to 1995. Specifically, it answered the following questions: 1) What was the situation in Calatrava, Negros Occidental at the time of outmigration? 2) What was the situation in Miagao, Iloilo at the time of in-migration? 3) How did the situations in Calatrava vis-à-vis Miagao affect the fishers’ decision to migrate? 4) What was the process of settling down in Miagao? and 5) What is the effect of in-migration have on the fishing industry of Miagao? This study used a historical perspective which seeks to understand a present subject, i.e. fishers’ migration, using the past. Gathering and interpretation of data was guided by Everett S. Lee’s “A Theory of Migration” which hypothesises that the interplay of factors associated with the area of origin; factors associated with the area of destination; intervening obstacles; and personal factors, influence the act of migration. Oral narrative was used because migration history is likely unrecorded, ill-documented, and hidden, and the migrant’s own story provides an essential record.