TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA) -- The provincial government’s proposal to convert the Manga Port in Tagbilaran City into a modern fish port has been approved by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) for funding through the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority. 

This was disclosed by provincial project development officer Clovis Llorente during the Kapihan sa PIA Bohol.  

The conversion of the Manga Port is one of the measures being implemented by the provincial government to increase the supply of fish in the local markets and help bring down prices.  

The P3-billion modern fish port will be equipped with facilities that will attract the landing of commercial fishing boats capable of bringing in tons of fish. 

It will have the necessary support facilities such as a trading hall, administration office, fuel station, ice plant, blast freezer, cold storage facilities, boat repair and servicing stations, and ice and market stalls where fish dealers can display and trade. 

“The complex could also be improved to house fish processing,” said Llorente, who is also the focal person of the provincial government’s Baratong Isda program. 

Construction of the fish port will start this year, he added. 

Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado has earlier vowed to reduce the exorbitant price of fish and make it affordable. 

Studies have shown that some of the factors driving up fish prices are the lack of fish supply in the local markets and the devastation left by typhoon Odette on the fishery sector here.

To address the issue of rising fish prices, Aumentado has created a task force to study measures that will make fish affordable in the province. 

According to Llorente, the task force saw that increasing the fish supply in the markets would bring down the price as the supply is assured. 

To realize this, the provincial government through the task force established the “Fish Buy Back” program to ensure that local fishermen have a market for their catch, encouraging them to sell their catch to the government rather than to middlemen.

However, Llorente said the catch of the local fisherfolk can hardly cope up with the local demand. 

This prompted the provincial government to tap facilities that can handle big bulks of fish catch to attract commercial fishers to bring their produce in Bohol. 

“BFAR has already funded numerous fish landing facilities in the coastal towns in Bohol, but none of these could handle the landing of tons of fish,” said Bohol Fish Buy-back Program Coordinator Salvio Madanguit. 

He added that the modern fish port could be a game changer, as it can handle a bulk supply of fish coming into the province.

The Kapihan sa PIA is a radio forum that is streamed live over PIA Bohol Facebook page and YouTube channel in this link: http://bit.ly/3SbLfvv.  (RAHC/PIA7 Bohol)