The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) of the Philippines is looking to develop the local tuna fishing sector by upgrading the municipality of Dingalan in the Aurora province to become the country’s next “tuna capital,” the Philippines Information Agency said in a statement last week.
The General Santos City in Mindanao is currently the only “tuna capital” in the Philippines.
Dingalan is a third-class municipality and is located 183 kilometers northeast of Metro Manila.
It is situated by the Philippine Rise, an undersea extinct volcanic ridge spanning 13 million hectares in the Philippine Sea. This underwater ridge is believed to have rich biodiversity and natural resources, which provides a “safe heaven” for spawning. The oceanic tuna species, including the endangered Pacific bluefin, also see various seamounts in the ridge as a nursery zone for them.
In the past, only research activities were allowed in the Philippine Rise. But in 2017, the local government formed a special fisheries management area and “protected food supply exclusive zone,” on an area of about 3,000 hectares of the feature where fishing activities are permitted.
At present, around 300 fishing boats and 20 commercial fishing vessels operate in Dingalan, with the fish catch being delivered through a community fish landing center in Barangay Paltic. From there, fresh fish is transported to markets and restaurants.
The municipality already has a small plant processing tuna with limited production of sliced sashimi, belly, jaw, and tail.
To realize the potential of Dingalan, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Region 3, which oversees the area, plans to build a fishing port to help protect vessels during typhoons. The bureau will also assist the local government to establish a fisherfolk cooperative, members of which are expected to be financially supported to buy larger boats and construct new cold-storage and processing facilities.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar will ask the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) and BFAR to conduct a feasibility study that will look into construction of a fishing-port complex in Dingalan, Aurora, and a wholesale fish market in Rosales, Pangasinan.
Sashimi grade tuna from Dingalan can be exported via the Clark Airport in Pampanga, about more than 140 kilometers away from Dingalan, and the municipality will soon become the country’s “tuna capital of the north,” the statement said.
A lockdown on travel implemented to fight the COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions to the Philippines’ tuna exports since March. Several flights from Santos City in Mindanao to Metro Manila were suspended, making it impossible for exporters to transport their fresh tuna, Santos’ key commodity. About five metric tons (MT) of tuna from Santos is exported every day to various countries in Asia, with Japan being the largest buyer. Tuna cargoes delivered from the city in the morning must be loaded in international flights before the middle of the day to ensure the freshness of the commodity.
However, the problem hindering the tuna exports has largely been resolved, as most commercial cargo flights have been resumed to help ship the fresh tuna to other markets, according to the Philippine News Agency.
The tuna industry in the Philippines has cancelled its annual face-to-face meeting, scheduled for September, and opted to go virtual instead, according to an announcement from the Socsksargen Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries Inc.
Photo courtesy of Aris A. Colintas/Shutterstock
