Commissioner Andres M. Mane: A Pillar of Philippine Fisheries Industry

By
Melchor F. Cichon
August 31, 2006

Because of Kanduli (Arius manilensis (Umali, 1936), the young Andres M. Mane switched his interest from agriculture to fisheries.

Kanduli is a native catfish found in Laguna de Bay.

Andres Mane was born in Mayondon, Los Baños, Laguna.

Being a bright pupil, Andres jumped from elementary to college, without passing through high school.
He enrolled at the U.P . College of Agriculture in Los Baños, Laguna and finished two degrees. The University of the Philippines Alumni Directory (1970, p. 698) says Mane finished :Bachelor of Agriculture in 1929 and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture in 1932.

Through the suggestion of Dr. Deogracias Villadolid, Mane studied the spawning of kanduli at Laguna de Bay for his thesis. The result of his study, "Preliminary study of the life history and habits of kanduli (Arius sp.) in Laguna de Bay, Philippines", was published in Philippine Agriculture.

This was the turning point of his career and he retired from the government services as a Commissioner of the Philippine Fisheries Commission in 1972.

After his graduation from college, he worked in several government offices. He worked as scientific fishery assistant and deputy warden at the Fish and Game Administration of the Bureau of Science.

He served as the first Superintendent of the Philippine Institute of Fisheries Technology, the first fisheries school in the Philippines and the forerunner of the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, UP in the Visayas. He was also responsible for the establishment of other fisheries schools in the Philippines.

Commissioner Mane worked at the National Economic Council (NEC), now NEDA, where he got his training on economics. He then served as Chief National Planner in Agriculture including fisheries and helped draft the First Comprehensive Socio-Economic Development Program of the then Pres. Diosdado Macapagal.
From NEC, he was hired as Acting Commissioner of the Philippine Fisheries Commission until his retirement in 1972.

He then worked as consultant for the SEAFDEC-AQD in Tigbauan, Iloilo, after which he worked as chairman of the Board of the Rural Bank of Paete, and as Director of the Rural Bank of Mabitac.

As a commissioner, Mane attended four international conferences namely: the 14th Session of the FAO in Rome, Italy on November 4-23, 1967; Inaugural meeting of the Council of Southeast Asian fisheries Development Center at Bangkok; International Seminar sponsored by the German Foundation for Developing Countries held at Berlin-Tegel, Germany, September –October 1968; and the 13th Council Meeting of the Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council held at Brisbane, Australia from October 14, 1968.

Probably because of his administrative positions, Commissioner Mane had very few (6) publications.

Below is the list of his publications on fisheries:

Mane, A. M. and D. K. Villaluz. 1939. The pukot fisheries of Laguna de Bay. Phil. Journ. Sci. 69:397-413.

Mane, A. M. and Mariano A. Abagon. 1950. A survey of fisheries educational institutions. Bull Fish. Soc. Phil. 1:20-26.

Mane, Andres M. 1929. Preliminary study of the life history and habits of kanduli (Arius sp.) in Laguna de Bay. Philippines Agri. 18(2):21-117

Mane, Andres M. 1937. Spawning and feeding habits of ayungin, Misopristes plumbea Kner, a common theraponid in Laguna de Bay. Philiippine Agri. 23 (6):502-513.

Mane, Andres M. 1981. Management and maintenance of fishpens in Laguna de Bay. In REPORT OF THE TRAINING COURSE ON SMALL-SCALE PEN AND CAGE CULTURE FOR FINFISH by Guerrero, R.D. III,Soesanto, V. Series title: Project reports (not in a Series) - SCS/GEN/82/34 1982 p. 262 pg

Villadolid, D. V. A. M. Mane, and B. Ongchangco. 1941. Opportunities in Philippine fisheries. Dept. Agri and Com. Year Book for 1940, pp. 701-710.

Sources:

Anonymous. October, 1968. The reigning triumvirate at the Fisheries Commission. The Fisheries Gazette, October 1968, pp. 6-8.

Tolentino, Angelina M. A legacy for fisheries. PCAMRD Waves, april-June 1997, p.8.