An estimated 80,000 people have found jobs in the fishing industry of General Santos City, thanks to the huge Makar Fish Port Facility where between 700 to 1,000-metric tons of fish are landed every day.
General Santos City Mayor Ronnel Rivera, who welcomed a delegation from Zamboanga Sibugay that made a benchmarking visit to the facility last week, said that about 10,000 work in the Fishport daily while an estimated 70,000 others are either working in the different processing facilities or engaged in activities related to the fishport operations.
Called the “Tuna Capital” of the Philippines, the General Santos City Makar Fishport lands at least 200,000-metric tons of Tuna every year, most of which go to the 8 canning factories in the city while the “Class A” is exported to Japan, the US and other countries by commercial flights.
The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) arranged the cross-visit and benchmarking of Zamboanga Sibugay officials led by Vice Governor Rey Olegario, members of the provincial board and mayors of the towns of Olutanga, Mabuhay, Talusan and Diplahan as they prepare for the crafting of the Development Master Plan of Olutanga Island.
During the visit, the Zamboanga Sibugay officials agreed that the establishment of a similar but smaller version of the Makar Fishport in the province known for its high-value fish like Lapulapu, crabs, lobsters and oysters would boost its aqua-marine industry and provide jobs for thousands.
“There’s a lot of fish in our waters. All that we need is a facility similar to this to serve as a consolidation area where the fishermen meet up with the buyers,” said Olutanga town Mayor Arthur Ruste.
Ruste and the two other mayors of Olutanga Island, Edreluisa Calonge of Mabuhay and Orlando Ramiso of Talusan, have all agreed to establish a common mariculture park where fishermen could grow Lapulapu, lobsters and other high-value fish.
On Sept. 14, MinDA and Zamboanga Sibugay officials will launch the OLTAMA Alliance Master Plan for Development and it is expected that the establishment of a Fish Port would be one of the major projects to be identified.
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(This video documentary of the visit of Zamboanga Sibugay officials to the Makar Fishport was prepared by the media team of the Mindanao Development Authority.)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1D-ZnB9TZoveAvkmcSXwzYaXuZJQDBiV-/view?fbclid=IwAR2mCf65bUupTkkzajqM-vh_j-E3yw7oYAg6uCbCU6ilTk7z7X1Wxh8uEl4
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