The Last Fishermen: Holding the Line Against a Dying Planet

They still rise before dawn to feed the world, but the world has stopped feeding them back.

I. When the Ocean Stops Giving

The ocean used to be generous.

Before oil spills, heatwaves, and imported fish, it fed families, sang lullabies, and held generations afloat.

Now, it’s falling silent.

In Lake Bato, southern Luzon, 62-year-old Mang Rene sets out before sunrise. But he no longer expects a catch.

“Sa dami ng basura, mas madali pa yata makahuli ng plastik kaysa isda,” he shrugs.

(“With all the trash, it’s easier to catch plastic than fish.”)

He's not alone. Across continents, small-scale fishers, once the backbone of local food, are vanishing. And no one’s watching.

II. The Last Fishermen and a Global Decline in Real Time

From the Philippines to Peru, the data is grim:

• Global fish biomass may drop by 24% by 2100, warns the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report.

  
  

• Warming oceans are driving fish away from the equator, and away from poor coastal communities who rely on them.

  
  

• In West Africa, Chinese mega-trawlers overfish waters that used to feed millions.

  
  

• In Greenland, Inuk fishermen can no longer find cod, a centuries-old staple, in the same waters.

  
  

• In Japan and the UK, suicide rates among fishermen are rising, linked to debt and loss of identity.

In the Philippines:

• A 2023 PAMALAKAYA report says 80% of small fishers earn below the poverty line.

  
  

• Coastal families now rely on instant noodles in a nation surrounded by water.

III. The Last Fishermen and the Cultural Collapse Beneath the Waves

What dies with the fish isn’t just food, it’s memory.

Fishing is more than a livelihood. It’s language, rhythm, and religion. It’s the smell of drying nets, the chant before launch, the quiet pride of feeding a village.

But today, many fisherfolk children dream of leaving.

“Sabi ni Tatay, wag na raw akong mangisda. Wala na raw kinabukasan diyan.”

(“My father told me not to be a fisherman. There’s no future in it anymore.”)

Ariel, 17, from Lake Mainit, Agusan del Norte

IV. Real-Time Collapse: The Last Fishermen Across the World

🇵🇭 Philippines

• Lake Bato: Fisherfolk protest a dam project that threatens their water supply.

  
  

• Laguna de Bay: Invasive janitor fish and real estate expansion choke traditional grounds.

  
  

Around the World

• Ghana: Local fishers battle foreign trawlers as their catch drops by 40%.

  
  

• Peru: El Niño wiped out anchovy populations in 2024, damaging the global fishmeal supply.

• Canada: Indigenous communities in Nova Scotia report declining salmon and increasing marine plastic.

V. The Last Fishermen: Holding the Line

Despite this, the last fishermen fight on. Some form of cooperatives. Others join climate strikes, organize marine sanctuaries, or return to traditional, sustainable methods.

But many are simply surviving, hauling smaller nets, waking earlier, and eating less.

And while politicians stage blue economy summits, Mang Rene sharpens a broken hook.

“Kung di kami mangingisda, sino pa?”

(“If we don’t fish, who will?”)

VI. The Last Fishermen and the World's Shared Fate

The crisis may feel far, until you realize every fish you eat started with someone like Rene.

If the last fishermen fall, we don’t just lose an industry.

We lose a way of life, a food system, and a frontline defense against climate collapse.

The sea gave us everything. Now it’s asking: what did we give back?