Country's Premier Fish Producer. Philippine Fisheries Development Authority – General Santos Fish Port Complex (PFDA-GSFPC) takes pride as the “Tuna Capital of the Philippines” and registered a significant unloading record of 65,970.70 metric tons (MT) of fish supply, the highest unloading volume across all Regional Fish Ports (RFPs) during the 1st quarter of 2021.

 Philippine Fisheries Development Authority – General Santos Fish Port Complex (PFDA-GSFPC), which takes pride as the jewel of the “Tuna Capital of the Philippines”, registered a significant unloading record of 65,970.70 metric tons (MT) of fish supply, the highest unloading volume across all Regional Fish Ports (RFPs) during the 1st quarter of 2021.

According to reports from the Operations Services Division (OSD), PFDA-GSFPC has unloaded 23,511.58 MT for March, the most fish supply over all RFPs for the quarter. Moreover, PFDA-GSFPC registered 21,858.28 MT and 20,600.84 MT for January and February, respectively, distributed through all its consumers across Southern Philippines and some areas in the National Capital Region. 

Aside from being the leading supplier of various tuna species and other fish species in the country, PFDA-GSFPC also serves as a prime location for fish trading and post-harvest as General Santos City homes several tuna canneries. 

A total of 3,974.47 MT of fish supply has been delivered by PFDA-GSFPC to canneries, processors, and local markets across GenSan during the 1st quarter of the year. 

Furthermore, PFDA-GSFPC also supplies fish to several provinces in Western, Central, and Eastern Visayas, and Eastern and Northern Mindanao, SOCCSKSARGEN, and the Zamboanga Peninsula. 

Most of the fish supply caught by PFDA-GSFPC are collected through reefer vessels and via trucking and air travel. On the other hand, the rich waters of Moro Gulf and Davao Gulf provide some of the most sought-after fish species, like tuna, that are popular not only in the Philippines but overseas as well. 

For PFDA-GSFPC, the volume of fish unloading is divided into four sectors: aquaculture, marine, overland, and frozen. During the 1st quarter, frozen fish supply showed a significant and consistent increase as months passed by, trailed by gradual increments from the rest of the sectors. 

 Yellowfin Tuna, Bullet Tuna, Skipjack Tuna, Bigeye Scad, and Flying Fish are among the top fish species with the highest availability record for the quarter. 

PFDA-GSFPC upholds its promise to continuously provide its clients and stakeholders with adequate supply as we enter the 2nd quarter of the year. The port has already unloaded 1,604.04 MT of fish supply for its consumers during the first four days of April. 

(Mark Angelo N. Perez – Public Information Division)