The goby dredge-trawl fishery is comparatively a new industry, being developed during the postliberation period. At the close of 1950 it became an established industry along Rizal Province side of Laguna de Bay. This industry consists principally of the catching of white goby, biyang puti (Glossogobius giurus), with the use of an indigenous dredge-trawl gear operated on fishing dugouts. The gear was formerly employed in gathering fresh-water mollusks, which are the basic feed of the commercially raised ducks (Anas boschas) around the lake. Conservative estimate in 1950 placed the value of the industry in the neighborhood of 160,000 pesos worth of fishing craft, equipment and accessories. The extensive operation of this new fishing gear has resulted in various conflicts, if not in competition, with the other commercial fishing gear used in Laguna de Bay. As a consequence, two controversial views on the destructive effect of the gear have prevailed.
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