Tuna, the tasty pink-fleshed ocean dwelling fish, is one of the world’s most important commercial fish and many nations pay homage to it via festivals.
There are a number of yearly tuna festivals around the world – notably the festivals in Sicily in Italy and in Pingtung in Taiwan – but the biggest and best known of them all is held at General Santos City in South Cotabato from Aug. 27 to Sept. 5.
It took only 8 years (it was started in 1998 during a Tuna Congress held by the Fishing Federation of the Philippines) for the festival at General Santos – popularly nicknamed Gensan – to reach best global status. The reason: the dramatic growth of the tuna industry is the biggest boost to the city’s economy earning it the title “Tuna Capital of the Philippinesâ€.
It is home to seven of the biggest tuna processing firms in the Philippines with a combined canning capacity of 570 metric tons a day. Gensan has now 50 commercial fishing companies running a collective volume of 8,000 metric tons of sashimi-grade tuna per month.
This plus its huge export of high-value, sashimi-grade tuna to Japan, Canada, the United States and Hong Kong may well make Gensan as the tuna capital of the world.
Gensan embraces the world
So closely identified is tuna with the city’s fame and fortune, that the festival organizers have made the festival coincide with the celebration of the city’s birth (it became a city in Sept. 5, 1968) with the festival as its highlight.
It was first run by the city government but was transferred in 2001 to a tuna festival council composed of NGOs, business groups and government agencies by executive order of Mayor Pedro B. Acharon, Jr. The mayor sits as chairman and the General Santos City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc., sits as co-chair.
In the beginning, the early festivals looked inward, focusing on the city’s traditions, but this year’s theme "Opportunities Beyond Anywhere" clearly presents a bullish Gensan looking outward to embrace the rest of the world.
A vibrant greeting “Magandang Gensanâ€, the festival will be marked by opening day competitions involving the best drum, bugle and xylophone corps and the LGU InterDepartment Street Dancing Competition.
The rest of the week will involve the cheer dancing competition, the selection of Miss Gensan, the Pop Idol contest a la American Idol, and a huge float parade competition during the closing ceremonies.
Gourmet travelers will be glad to know that tuna cooked different ways will be held at a demonstration at the KCC Mall on Sept. 3. They can also taste tuna value added products such as tuna chorizo, tuna hotdogs and tuna embotido.
Or they can go to the super palengke where tuna is cheapest. Finally, they can bring their cameras to Gensan’s most popular tourist spot, the Fish Port, where they can see, marvel at and click the biggest tuna catch in the world.
Gensan, which has excellent airport facilities, is one hour and 30 minutes by air from Manila and two-and-a-half hours to Davao City by land.
Source: Philippine Press