ILOILO City – Western Visayas is not importing galunggong, or round scad, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Region 6 said amid fears of formalin-laced supply of the fish species from abroad entering the Philippines. The region is self-sufficient in galunggong, said the agency.
The 17,000 metric tons of galunggong that the Philippines started imported on Sept. 1 are intended for the National Capital Region, clarified BFAR regional director Remia A. Aparri.
Aparri said there is a low supply of galunggong in Philippine markets, hence the need to import, but the imported supplies landing at the Navotas Fish Port are not supposed to end up in wet markets.
The country is importing for processing or institutional buyers, including hotels and restaurants, stressed Aparri.
Galunggong – once dubbed “poor man’s fish” – hit the headlines recently amid claims that supplies of the species laced with the toxic chemical formalin are found in wet markets in Luzon.
Citing laboratory analysis, the BFAR said they have found no trace of formalin in round scad samples taken from at least three ports.
“Kon may ara man siguro, gamay – very negligible. It goes with the process nga kon mapatay ang isda, may gina-produce na sia nga amo na nga substance. Indi sia harmful,” Aparri explained, citing laboratory findings of their central office.
Aparri further explained that Western Visayas is not largely dependent on galunggong. In fact the region is self-sufficient in this fish species, she said.
And even with the shortage, “may mga aquaculture products kita coming from fishponds and the sea that will fill the gap,” the BFAR official said.
Western Visayas produced 9,132.94 metric tons of galunggong in 2017, up from 7,599.39 metric tons in 2016, based on data the BFAR sourced from the Philippine Statistics Authority.
These came from commercial fishers, or those using boats with a gross tonnage of 3.1 and above and fishing beyond 15 kilometers from the shoreline.
On the other hand, municipal fishery production in 2017 was at 6,762.39 metric tons, also higher than the 6,388.05 metric tons in 2016.
This involved the use of boats with gross tonnage of 3 and below and passive gears.
Western Visayas sources galunggong from Aklan, Antique, northern Negros, and northern Palawan, said Aparri.
Top galunggong-producing regions include the NCR, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Mimaropa, Calabarzon, and the Bicol Region, PSA data showed.
Galunggong currently costs between P140 and P180 per kilo, Aparri said. (With a report from Philippine News Agency/PN)
