It was hard not to be completely transfixed by Toni Yocor. As he dove deeper into each of his tales, perfectly articulating every idea and detail, I found myself overcome with emotion. I wondered if the team shared my sentimentality, and I was honestly a little worried about letting these emotions sweep over while talking with someone as legendary as Toni himself.
But there I was, tears rolling down my cheeks as he recounted his life as one of the original Negros Oriental Bantay Dagats: members of the volunteer enforcement term protecting Zamboanguita from illegal fishing operations.
Days leading up to this profound moment, we were exploring Zamboanguita, Philippines. My team and I wondered how we got here in the first place, but also relished its utter remoteness. Although there certainly were dive operations scattered throughout the area, it was clear there was so much unexplored, uncharted, and frankly, undiscussed territory. We wanted to go deeper. We wanted to get into the gritty stuff.
Meeting Toni was never in the plans though. It happened randomly and kind of serendipitously. We were stationed at Marine Conservation Philippines (MCP) basecamp for the week to understand how disparate stakeholders can come together to restore and protect the ocean. We wanted to see if local government, fisheries, community leaders, scientists and non-profits could all work towards a common cause—which is an extremely tall order no matter where you are in the world.
True for many island nations around the world, coastal communities rely heavily on the ocean for food and their livelihood. But there’s a common misconception that with the vastness of the ocean completely engulfing them, there should be an abundance of resources available at their shores. While this was once the case, today it is no longer.
The ocean went from being abundant in marine life to heavily depleted in a matter of decades. And since then, surviving has become that much more difficult. Less fish means less food and money. Toni recounted that when he was younger, he would have to dodge hitting fish while paddling out to sea, as they were so plentiful. Fast forward just three decades later, and now it’s shocking if he sees more than a handful on a single paddle.
With dwindling resources for this island community, anxiety crept in among its population. The commercial fishing trade started to look a lot more appealing for those struggling to put food on the table through their traditional means. So, community members began abandoning their individual fishing practices and teamed up with the commercial operations to earn more income. This seemed to be the better chance of survival, at least in the short term.
A rare few witnessed this change take place and we’re brave enough to acknowledge publicly the dire impact this was having on the marine ecosystem. To them, it was clear that something needed to be done and Toni was a key representative of this small minority. If the fish count was dwindling, there needed to be action taken to restore the population, manage it and create a symbiotic relationship with the ocean where communities could survive without depleting the ocean of its resources entirely.
Toni realized he needed to educate himself on how the ocean works, the laws around ocean protection and what it would take to create this symbiotic relationship. And with this, Toni’s role as an ocean enforcer in and out of his community began.
Apo Island was the first “no-take” zone established in the Philippines off the coast of Negros Oriental. Its fishing restrictions began back in 1982 with the help of the local Silliman University science department, and it is one of the most well-documented success stories of conservation efforts in the country. Unfortunately, this is not so much the case for other MPAs that have been established since then in the area.
Here, MPAs have not been successful due to limited support in maintaining them across the board—from the government to the societal levels. This is where illegal fishing entered the equation, as the local authorities would turn a blind eye to their fishing practices in these protected zones. After all, the fisherfolk were their friends!
With the scars of depletion becoming increasingly evident, a personal and profound awakening sparked within Toni. It began with studying law, in a self-motivated effort to turn his knowledge into power. The next step was to become one with the ocean in order to better understand it, which is what got him hooked on scuba diving. Training up in these two areas, he was arming himself with a deeper and more physical knowledge that no one could take away from him.
Toni began patrolling the beaches at night, reminding fisherfolk of the no-take zone laws and conservation requirements. This had an unfortunate side-effect of making him a rather disliked person among the community. Death threats became a regular occurance for him during his early days patrolling and enforcing. He even recounted a time he got slapped in the face by one of his family members for the work he was doing that was putting out the community’s fisherfolk.
“Being popular means being bad,” Toni explained, as many people could not understand his views and strict ways, preventing them from fishing in their home waters. Toni became famous (or infamous depending on your perspective) for his no bullshit attitude and vigilantism of the waters. It also allowed him to become the first Bantay Dagat in Negros Oriental, translated to “sea patrol” or “watchdog.”
Through many hours of conversation, we learned about this group of appointed volunteers that work from 6pm - 3am, every night. They are enforcing the protected areas of the sea, warding off illegal fishing and maintaining the precious balance. The Bantay Dagat conduct their volunteer work on TOP of full-time day jobs to pay the bills!
At times this night work involved high-stress sea chases and apprehending those fishing without permits. Other times, the work involved more mundane paperwork—writing reports on fishing activities or handing out fines in the early hours of the morning. Other than a 2,000 peso honorarium per month, this work—from the high-stress to the tedious—is unpaid for its diligent enforcers.
The Bantay Dagat operates under the umbrella of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) of the Philippine Department of Agriculture. They extend their protective gaze up to 15 km (9.3 miles) from the shore, vigilantly guarding the marine environment against illegal fishing, while standing ready to spearhead rescue operations.
Incorporated as a "participatory approach designed for coastal law enforcement," by the turn of the millennium, the ranks of Bantay Dagat had grown to over 100,000 volunteers around the country. With Negros Oriental being home to one of the original MPAs, this location has always been one of the most active and successful Bantay Dagat teams.
In 1994, when a new program structure was put into place, Toni was there pushing this progressive concept into his community. He admits the journey has been rough, painful and at times, even traumatizing. It was scary going up against everyone he knew with an alternative view that was not widely accepted, given how much fishing is part of the local lifestyle.
But, with support from the local government, access to nonprofit organizations like MCP, and a few strong community leaders that believed in this mission, Toni has become the real success story of Negros Oriental. This group has made incredible strides in not only forming more MPA’s that are successful, but in also limiting the amount of illegal activity that happens here.
Today, Toni is focused less on the illegal fishing pursuit, but more on training the next generation of Bantay Dagat, which is now being spearheaded by a 36-year old named Jose. Toni is passing down the important role to those who are open, optimistic and ready to take on the challenge, letting their passion drive them forward in the hardest of times. The push to stop illegal fishing is surely not over today. Because of the road paved by the original Bantay Dagat, there’s hope for a thriving future with this next wave of recruits.
Wiping away tears as Toni talked about the importance of staying true to your values, it was a serious reminder of the burning passion needed to fight this good fight every day. There are so many instances when the people around us will say things cannot be done, or “no” to progress and change.
In those moments, where the easy route is to give up, or it feels too hard to keep fighting, it’s critical that we remember Toni’s story. He’s someone who self-educated, pushed past popular beliefs, and rose to a powerful role within the community all in the name of the thing he cares about most. Every sleepless night, death threat, fight for survival was in order to see actionable change in his lifetime. Now, it’s our turn.
To be continued …
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