CADIZ City is now an exporter of dried fish, its mayor said.
Mayor Patrick Escalante said his city is exporting an average of two tons or 2,000 kilos of dried fish every week.
Escalante encouraged other fisher folks to learn the sanitary procedure of producing dried fish which are not exposed to flies, mosquitoes, dogs, ants and even children.
The mayor said the city pioneered the dried fish plant in Negros Occidental, adding it is located at the city's reclamation area.
They started the production in September last year but temporarily stopped in December because of the fishing ban imposed in the Visayan Sea, he said, adding they resumed in March this year after the banning was lifted.
"This is very sustainable because the prices do not fluctuate at P130 to P140 per kilo unlike in the local market where sometimes the prices of dried fish would go down to P80 per kilo," Escalante said.
He explained they make sure that the dried fish are fresh from the seas and that they follow the International Accepted Method of Production.
"What's lacking in the normal procedure is the traceability of how the dried fish is prepared. They don't last because sometimes the fish are not fresh and are exposed to flies and other fecal materials," he said.
Escalante said that the dried fish plant is equipped with a solar drier. "We have a greenhouse that even during the rainy season, the drying continues. It is enclosed with a screen so it is not exposed to flies, mosquitoes and other fecal materials. It's very sanitary", he said.
Escalante said that the international demand is very high, at 100 tons every month. "It's not only us Filipinos who love to eat dried fish. People from other Asian countries and even the Americans love to eat dried fish," Escalante said.
He also said they are willing to share the new technology with other fisher folks and that the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources have been eyeing their dried fish plant to be their demo farm.
The most demanded dried fish in the United States and Canada, he said, is tabagak.