ZAMBOANGA CITY, 18 September 2005 — Plans are afoot to put up blue-fin tuna farms in Sarangani Bay and nearby waters off Southern Mindanao, Philippine officials have said.
Reuben Ganaden, deputy director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, said tuna farming is an alternative option to the country’s dwindling tuna resources.
Investors should find blue-fin tuna farming a viable business because of the high value of blue-fin tuna abroad, particularly in Japan where it is considered a delicacy, he said.
A recent report by the state-owned Philippine News Agency (PNA) said blue-fin tuna is being sold in Japan for as high as $5,000 per kilogram.
“Blue-fin tuna farming is fast becoming a major industry in Australia and Spain. Right now we are looking at tapping their technologies to jump start our own venture,” the PNA quoted Ganaden as saying.
Agriculture Secretary Domingo Panganiban was also reported to be supportive of the plan.
Fishing is a 50-billion-peso industry in the Philippines, contributing about 4 percent of the country’s GNP, or gross national product. With an annual production volume of 2.4 million metric tons of fish, the industry directly provides livelihood and employment to over one million Filipinos.
Tuna is among the 200 species of fish found in the country that have high commercial value.
The Philippines ranks 7th among the top tuna producing countries in the world, both in terms of fresh and frozen and canned tuna.
General Santos City, located in Sarangani province, is the country’s leading supplier of canned tuna, high value sashimi tuna and tuna steaks to the Japanese, European and American markets.
