Days before Christmas, a bangus farming project sponsored by Taganito Mining Corporation (TMC), reaped and shared a bountiful harvest of more than 7,700 kilos of bangus from their fish pens in Barangay Wangke, Claver, Surigao del Norte.
The harvest came at no better time as buyers from neighboring barangays and municipalities, who were looking to serve bangus dishes during their Noche Buena and day-to-day meals, flocked to get a share of their harvest that were sold at Php 100 to Php 120 per kilo.
Their largest buyer, a fish dealer from a neighboring municipality, procured over 3,000 kilos of their bangus.
GAMAWA is an 18-strong fisherfolk association assisted by TMC, a subsidiary of Nickel Asia Corporation, through its Social Development and Management Program (SDMP).
A total of P5.7 million has been mobilized for the project which started in 2017 and was formally inaugurated in 2018.
Support included the construction of the fish pens and cottages, provision of fingerlings and fish feed, provision of trainings, and linkages to potential markets.
GAMAWA president Felix Saranza is nothing but thankful for their bountiful harvest and the continuous support their organization received from TMC.
“Kami sa GAMAWA magpasalamat gajud mi sa TMC ug sa Comrel sa injo gihatag na pinaskuhan sa amo bisan kuman na panahon na may COVID. Salamat sab sa tanan suporta na inyo gihatag sa organisasyon sa GAMAWA. (We in GAMAWA are very thankful to TMC and Comrel for the Christmas gift you gave us even during this time of pandemic. Thank you also for all the support you’ve given to the GAMAWA organization),” shared Saranza.
Alongside their fish production, GAMAWA has also become a tourist destination within the municipality where visitors stop by to rest in their cottages while enjoying a view of the fish pens, the sea and of neighboring islands.
Bangus is the popular choice for local dishes such as grilled, kinilaw, paksiw, sisig, daing, relleno, sinigang, and fried.
Seeking to add value to their product and explore potential markets, GAMAWA members also underwent a training on deboning and and bottling where they initially produced marinated boneless bangus, bottled bangus in olive oil, and bottled bangus in tomato sauce.
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