The Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) is confident of increased supply of tuna for the manufacture and processing of tuna products with an improved port facility that could accommodate bigger local and international fishing vessels docking to unload fish at the General Santos City tuna port.
Santiago Martinez, port manager of the General Santos Fish Port Complex, said the wharf is being rehabilitated from its present deepest level of six meters to 15 meters below sea level. “Dredging will start soon and we hope that the improved port facility will lure (bigger) international fishing vessels to dock and unload their catch for increased tuna supply,†he said.
Martinez said the construction of another cold storage that could accommodate an additional 1,500 tons of fish is also ongoing, with the General Santos City-Business Permit and Licensing Office issuing a location clearance to a private construction firm recently.
The cold-storage facility will be constructed at Pier 4 beside the existing cold storage facility. The $26-million port facility improvement project is expected to create 2,000 jobs for the fish-port complex alone. Local officials expressed confidence that the fish-port improvement will boost the tuna canning industry, as well as increase the supply of export-quality tuna meat from the area known as the country’s “tuna capital.†The present cold storage at the General Santos Fish Port can only accommodate 1,500 tons of fish, thereby limiting the production of tuna in the area. With the new facility in place within the first quarter of the year, Martinez is confident of generating additional P1-billion revenue for the entire tuna industry in 2005.
Seven of the country’s tuna canneries are located in this city. General Santos City provides 15 percent of the entire tuna supply in the world. The General Santos Fish-Port Complex, covering an area of 36 hectares along the shores of barangay Tambler, General Santos City, in South Cotabato is the country’s second-biggest fish port, next only to the Navotas Fish Port Complex, from where fish and seafood in Metro Manila’s markets come from.
In 2001 PFDA reported that 43 million kilograms (kg) of tuna were docked and process in General Santos City. In 2002 it recorded 50 million kg; and 60 million kg in 2003. Last year it overshot its target and recorded 95 million kg of tuna.
Mayor Pedro Acharon Jr. said the proposed projects at the General Santos Fish-Port Complex is expected to bring in more investments and create more jobs for the city’s residents. “With a bigger pier that could accommodate bigger fishing vessels and a storage facility big enough to accommodate bigger volume of fish everyday, we are anticipating more investments. We hope for an increased canned and fresh-tuna export, and increased number of cannery in the coming years,†he said.