THE City Government of Cagayan de Oro and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)-Northern Mindanao led the ground breaking of the Community Fish Landing Center on Friday, November 17, in Barangay Bonbon.
Jacky Lynne Merto, village chief of Bonbon, said the community fish landing center is a huge help to the residents of the barangay since their main livelihood is fishing.
"Si City Councilor (Ian) Nacaya pud nag-inspect pud sya sa area nato dinhi kung pwede ba dinhi matukod ang fish terminal gikan sa Bulua basin mabalhin dinhi (City Councilor Ian Nacaya also inspected the area to see if the fish terminal from Bulua can be transferred here)," Merto said.
According to Mayor Oscar Moreno, the Bonbon fish landing will cost some P4.9 million, with P2.9 million funded by BFAR and P2 million by the City Government.
After establishing the fish landing center in Barangay Bonbon, Moreno said this will be followed by the completion of the bridge that connects Bonbon and Macabalan as well as the road and terminal for public utility vehicles.
Provincial Fisheries Officer Teodoro Bacolod Jr. said the first years of operation of the fish landing center will be under the project management committee, with the Moreno as the committee chairman.
“Mangita sya’g pondo para i-personalize first ang atong fish landing center kay wala pa man mo’y pondo. Mogahin ang local government units og pondo para ma-personalize na sya. Pagmakita na kaya na ninyo magpadagan, i-turn over na sa inyo (He will be looking for funds for the personalization of the fish landing center since the fisher folks doesn’t have funds. The local government units will allocate funds to personalize the fish landing center. Once we see that the fisher folks can manage the fish landing center on their own, we will then turn it over to them),” Bacolod said.
Bacolod said aside from erecting the building for the fish landing center, they will also provide eight stainless steel tables and two freezers, adding that the problem of most fisher folks is the lack of ice used to maintain the quality of the fishes.
“Kung makita pud namo nga daghan na gyud nga dili na kaya sa duha ka freezer, maghatag mi og ice maker in support sa panghinanglanun sa atong mga mananagat para makita nato nga ang ilang ibaligya is quality gyud sya (If we see that the two freezers will not be sufficient, we will also provide an ice maker in support to the needs of the fisher folks so we can see to it that the fishes they will be selling is of good quality),” Bacolod said.
“Kini nga fish landing center is para sa tanang mananagat dinhi sa syudad Cagayan de Oro, sa mga coastal barangays (This fish landing center is for all the fisher folks in Cagayan de Oro, in the coastal barangays),” he added.
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.