The Tuna Capital

A confession is in order. It is a stupid mistake that I have not listed General Santos City as a place to travel. My father would love this city simply because he loves tuna and General Santos City or Gensan as it is fondly called, is the Tuna Capital of the Philippines. Thanks to the recently concluded Soccsksargen Experience Tour 3, I was able to experience the city during the annual Tuna Festival that happens every September.

It was the last day of the tour and all woke up early to visit the Fish Port Complex. I tried to hide my enthusiasm, but I was really looking forward to this. Having known that Gensan is one of the largest supplier of fresh and quality tuna around the globe was enough to entice me to witness this Pinoy feat in action.

Tuna and more tunas!

One of our gracious hosts, Avel Manansala is actually known in the blogosphere as Bariles, the Filipino word for Tuna. He gave us prior instructions to wear jeans, a policy implemented inside the Fish Port. When we arrived, we were immediately asked to take off our shoes and put on this white boots:

classy white outdoor boots

My feet are relatively small and even the smallest pair of boots were too big for me. Regardless, I got the hang of it after a few steps. For hygienic purposes, I recommend wearing socks. I would also suggest to bring an extra shirt as you may get fish blood on your clothes.

These shoes are not for sale.

After a brief introduction, we were off to the docks!

The port becomes busy as early as 4am. I can only imagine how early fishermen have to be at sea to catch all those tuna! I learned that there are different types of tuna and General Santos is known to house the largest processing and landings of the yellow fin tuna. What makes this more amazing is the fact that the yellow fin avoids dirty water that makes this tuna more fit for consumption. This is why many countries opt to buy them.

Yellow fin tunas at General Santos Fish Port Complex

Everyday, fishermen bring in their catch of tuna as several trading companies await in the port and are on constant lookout for the best quality tuna to buy. In a matter of hours, these fresh tuna are either transported to their respective buyers or processed.

During our visit, I saw agents carrying a long and thin metal stick that they use to poke a tuna to determine its quality. The more consistent the meat color, the higher the quality. Cool!

The sight of tunas is overwhelming!

Gensan has been blessed to have been situated very near tuna abundant bodies of water such as the Moro Gulf, Sulu Sea, Mindanao Sea and Celebes Sea. Apart from this, modern facilities and an airport makes the city more attractive to international buyers. Before the morning ends, tunas that are meant for export are quickly packed and catches the morning flight of PAL (Philippine Airlines). Now, that is fast!

Transporting tunas!

Once sold, tunas leave the port immediately depending on the nature of purchase. Those that are meant for the local market or for processing were cleaned first then frozen in a matter of minutes by simply emerging them in a container full of dry ice. They are then loaded inside a vehicle that are especially insulated to keep the fishes frozen until it reaches their final destination. Those for export goes directly to the airport after packaging. I was personally amazed.

Me, beside a yellow fin tuna being weighed.

Truly, our visit to the Fish Port Complex has been one of the personal highlights of the Soccsksargen Experience Tour 3. The experience makes me a prouder Filipino. I know I have yet to discover more amazing things about the Philippines, and I am happy to have unraveled the wonderful chaos at the General Santos City Fish Port. If you are traveling to the south and find yourself in Gensan, I recommend you don't miss the opportunity to at least have a glimpse of the port.

I shall end this post with a fact: I weigh less than the tuna!

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