GenSan’s Tuna Festival kicks off tomorrow

tuna fest

 

General Santos City will celebrate the 15th Tuna Festival from September 5 to 9 to mark the 45th anniversary of the  city’s Charter.

A National Tuna Congress and Trade Exhibition will be mounted by the Socsargen Federation of Fisheries and Allied Industries, Inc. Participated in by the country’s leading tuna  players, the Congress will discuss the prospects and challenges facing the tuna industry and formulate an action plan to make it stronger and more resilient  in the light of the twin problems of global competition and dwindling aquatic resources.

A Tuna Float Parade will highlight the first-day festivity. 

There will also be a tuna-cooking competition as well as special events such as duathlon, jet-ski race, mountain biking and skim-boarding tournaments.

The city is dubbed as the Philippine’s tuna capital, with adjacent Sarangani Bay breeding what is regarded as the tastiest tuna in the country and yielding an aggregate tuna yield that exceeds the aggregate tuna produce from all other Philippine fish ports.  GenSan hosts the most modern fish port in the country.

The tuna trade is said to be responsible for generating over  100,000 job opportunities, either direct or indirect, for the city’s population, including those in nearby areas and contributes substantially to the overall revenues of the country. 

Mayor Ronnel Rivera of General Santos City said the city is developing its potential for ecotourism based on natural wonders like Sansapan Cave Falls, Napol Hills, Mount Matutum and many others.  He added that the festival will continue to focus on the city as a prime destination for conventions, business meetings and culinary tours, as well as on its nature- and fisheries-based alternative-tourism activities.

The festival will conclude on September 9 with a street-dance competition, where dancers will be clad in ornate fisheries-themed carnival costumes to represent the ocean’s rich resources.

Photo: from www.localphilippines.com