Sual remains as PH top bangus producer

SUAL, Pangasinan –Residents here led by Mayor Lizeldo “Dong” Calugay welcomed the news that this coastal town in the western part of the province retains its status as the top producer of  bangus (milkfish) of world-class quality.

The recognition came from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource (BFAR), which estimated the town’s average bangus production daily at roughly 60,000 kilos or 120,000 pieces.

 

The bulk of the 750 fish cages are found at Cabalitian Bay. Each fish cage produces from 30,000 to 50,000 pieces of bangus per harvest.

The town’s bangus production is twice that of the combined output from the towns of Anda and Bolinao, according to the BFAR.

Pangasinan produces 23 percent of bangus supply in the country and more than 90 percent in the Ilocos region.The production area is concentrated in the western towns of the province, notably Sual, and the produce is sold in Navotas and Malabon in Metro Manila and in Dagupan City.

Sual’s production is higher than that of Dagupan, where 900 hectares of ponds are devoted to bangus.

.

Sual supplies 30 percent of Metro Manila’s bangus, thus contributing hugely to the country’s food security program, former BFAR Regional Director Nestor Domenden said.

Milkfish produced in Sual is also findings its way to foreign markets, notably in Hawaii and California in the USA.

According to the residents, the growing popularity of bangus produced in the waters of Sual “is a solid proof that there is no pollution in Sual waters even with the presence of the coal-fired power plant.”

Some of the fish cages are located in Baquioen Bay which is near the Sual coal-fired power plant in barangay Pangascasan.

This augurs well with the plan to put up another power plant in Sual to provide hundreds of jobs for the residents and millions in revenues for the municipality, they said. (P.R News)