Tawilis - Freshwater Sardines, Only In The Philippines
Just had our monthly dinner meetup with college friends at Manam, a Filipino restaurant which had its newest flagship branches located in the Ayala Triangle Gardens, Makati City. They have branch-exclusive items.
Tawilis (Sardinella tawilis) is the only freshwater sardine in the world. It is found only in Taal Lake, Batangas, Philippines. This makes it a rare and significant species, endemic to the Philippines. How did this happen? Evolution. Taal Volcano's eruptions and tectonic activities eventually isolated what is now known as Taal lake, and the surviving sardines adapted into the freshwater environment.
This is cooked usually fried or grilled and accompanied with salt and vinegar.
I actually thought there was a total ban on this due to overfishing. It was declared endangered in 2019, but apparently only a seasonal fishing ban is in place from March to April. I wonder how the restaurant will manage the supply since this was targeted to be part of their seafood menu in time for Holy Week which also falls in April.
I remember eating fried tawilis when we went to Tagaytay some years ago. I didn't have much info about it that time. Just my niece suggested going there. She suggested eating fried tawilis with their famous soup. There's really conflict between demand and availability of resources. Personally, I am not against the ban because they were already declared endangered. People just need to find other ways or provide other products. Otherwise, they might become extinct; by that time, that would already be irreversible.
the 2-month ban ain't bad. It could mean that it's enough time to rebuild population. As long as the communities involved practice ethical fishing. :)
I see.. as long as it's enough time to increase their population again, then they wouldn't go extinct then.
Agree about ethical fishing.
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It looks like very delicious, I wish I could taste that kind of dish. ☺
Not too far from the rest of the sardine species. What's notable here is it's unique adaption to Taal Lake, which makes it special and one of its kind in the world! :)
Sounds so yummy indeed. ☺
@scion02b yes it is delicious in any way of cooking. It could be steamed or fried. It is also available in the south or the same kind of it. We usually had kinilaw in it. some of it is in can and its expensive
ohh kinilaw is interesting
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