Consuelo - From fishing to fishpens to tourism

Fresh from the sea at Consuelo.

Fishermen used to regularly cast fishing nets from their bancas around the cove. They get enough fishes for their meals and some more for selling. We really enjoyed those fresh catches.

Some years back; we even had a chance to help out the fishermen haul their nets to the shore. But now, because of the fish pens; the bancas seldom cast their nets in the area. Well, this helps the regeneration of the fish population in the area, but still the pens are an eyesore and there seems to be no discipline or guidelines in putting them up. Look at the background of the photo.

We wonder if the local authorities of Consuelo; Magsaysay (Misamis Oriental) are aware of this? Or is the DENR the concerned agency?

Developing the cove area as a tourist spot would be a better alternative and would be more than enough to give the locals a new source of livelihood. The nearby swamps would be great for bird watching and the calm sea in front great for kayakking (jet skis would also be nice but this would only pollute the area because of the fuel it emits). New dive sites can be explored nearby or the beach areas can be used as jump off points to get to the other sites.

Locals can provide boat rides or act as guides for exploration. They will even have a market for any locally produced handicrafts or food products.

Visitors always surely appreciate good food so clean ihaw-ihaw (grilling) restaurants, cafes or bars can also thrive once a critical mass of tourism will be achieved.

Wishful thinking, but it can be done. One step at a time. The Ownners of an adjoining lot initially developed their property as a resort. They had many visitors on weekends. It was mostly family; friends and acquaintances. But the venture was really just a private enterprise and not part of a concerted developing effort and it was short-lived.