Dawn beaching of sardines a good omen, say Filipino villagers

Maasim, a coastal municipality located at the southernmost tip of Mindanao, witnessed this peculiar yet natural phenomenon, which the villagers interpreted as a sign that the New Year would bring good things. “This is a blessing from God. We are thankful to God for this,” said one villager. He and his neighbours each collected at least five buckets of sardines, while hundreds of others brought home 20 to 30 kilos each of the fish called "loopy" in the local dialect. Residents and guests at the local beach resort rushed to the shore and used their bare hands, basins and pails to scoop up the fish. Another resident said that his family was alerted to the fish around 3 am, prompting them to immediately rush to the area to take advantage of the unexpected bounty. “I was nervous at first to see such an overwhelming number of fish beached along the shore. But we decided to gather them up since we considered it a blessing," he said. His group alone hauled in more or less 500 kilograms of ...