Hukay

Place Names, Seascape and Cartography of Marine Rightsownership is also an indicator of village-level political hierarchy. InBatasan, present owners are mostly village officials or those who haveheld some form of political authority in the past.Conflicts arising from a contestation of rights near fish corrals,nevertheless, are rare in Batasan, perhaps because islanders tend tonegotiate fishing arrangements with operators of permanent fish corrals,in spite of the latter’s assumption of ‘rights’ to these sites. In cases ofdisputes, they usually settle the issue among themselves or bring the caseto the village council in situations where conflicts seem irreconcilableamong parties involved.One controversial fish corral site in Batasan, which I havementioned earlier, lies on a reef crest opposite the MPA site (Figure 4).This site is now named Bunsod Tiago, after its owner Santiago. There is along-running conflict over this site among different families in Batasan,who are all socially regarded highly by islanders by virtue of theireconomic and political standing. The conflict dates back from shortly afterWorld War II, and continues unresolved among involved parties, in spiteof the intervention of the municipal mayor in 1989 to resolve the conflict.49Figure 4. The guardhouse of the Batasan marine protected area (right) and a fishcorral named Bunsod Tiago on a highly contested site on Batasan reef at low tide(Photo by E. R. Guieb III, 2005)Prevalent in conflicts over fish corrals is theft of fish from thecollection chambers committed by villagers and residents of othervillages. Conflicts ensuing from these incidents have, in some instances,led to violent clashes between families, with some family membersresorting to physical harm against those suspected of or caught stealingthe harvest. Owners constantly keep watch over their fish corrals,particularly when harvest time is near. They spend the night on theirboats anchored near their property to protect the catch. Not only are fish