A COMMUNITY fish landing center is set to rise in Barangay Bonbon, Cagayan de Oro City, an official of the City Economic Enterprise Department (CEED) said.
CEED Officer-in-Charge Rodulfo Yana said his team is presently conducting an exploratory research trip in cities of Dipolog and Dapitan, prominent of their standard fish landing centers.
“We went on a trip per recommendation of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) para ato na gayud nga maestablish ang plano nga fish market diha sa Barangay Bonbon (so we can establish the fish market plan in Barangay Bonbon),” he said.
“Ang Bonbon atong napili because aside nga seaside sila, sila pud ang barangay una naka-request nga magbutang gayud ug fish landing sa ilaha nga dapit (We chose Bonbon because aside from being located in the seaside, the barangay was the first to request a fish landing center to be established in the barangay),” he said.
He said just like the fish market center in Dipolog, he wants the city to have its own cold storage, fish processing and other standard facilities for the fisherfolks among others.
Presently, the city has a fish landing center in Barangay Bulua located in Westbound terminal but Yana said this might be demolished with the opening of a mall there.
“Naa man gud tay mall diha na mag-open pud, so I understand na medyo baho gayud na siya, so basin gubaon gayud na siya (A mall is soon to be opened in Westbound Terminal, so I understand that it will be smelly, so maybe the fish landing center will be demolished),” he said.
Last November, the City Council enacted an ordinance which authorizes Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno to enter into memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA).
The project is provided under the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 which authorizes BFAR to establish post harvest facilities for fishing communities consistent with the policy of providing support to subsistence fisheries, in the exercise of their rights to benefit from the country’s fisheries resources, especially in municipal waters.
The City Council said under the MOA, the Department of Agriculture-BFAR shall provide the city with the criteria for the selection of the site for the Community Fish Landing Center (CFLC), review and approve the selection of the site for the CFLC in coordination with the PFDA, among others while the PFDA shall provide technical assistance in the preparation of the model design of the CFLC.
The city will supervise the construction of the CFLC with the assistance of Bfar and PFDA to ensure full compliance by the contractor with the approved technical and engineering design and other terms and conditions in the contract.