General Santos City Fish Port

I was still half asleep when we went out of our hotel room to go to the Fishport Complex located in Brgy Tambler, General Santos. We hailed a “motorela” and paid 20Php each going to the Fishport. It was a 20-minute smooth ride. The city is still asleep because it was just 5AM. Only few vehicles are roaming around so the commute went fast.

We were already in the fish port at 5:30AM. The personnel in charge told us that we cannot enter the premises yet because the unloading process will start at 6AM and only then that visitors are allowed. 

PS: Please wear proper attire when going to the fish port. Wearing shorts is highly discouraged. 

For visitors who are not in proper attire, a few pajamas are available for rental. And of course you need to rent white boots for protection.

Proper Attire (thanks Kat for the pictures)

After changing, we immediately proceeded to the area where large (I mean really LARGE) tunas are unloaded. We saw a 90-kg tuna unloaded from the boat, carried over the shoulder of one of the porters, weighed and marked for buyers to see.

This is how they clean the tuna

This is how the weigh the tuna

How do the buyers asses the tuna? There is a tool used by the buyers for them to properly rate the fish. According to Frank the seller and the buyer needs to agree on the price first before the test is done. After agreeing on the price the buyer will insert a sort-of “sanction” inside the tuna to get a sample - the more red the tuna meat is the better. And also, the tuna has a higher selling value when it is oilier.

We stayed at the fish port for a couple of hours. I was personally awed by the sights in front of me. The wackiness of GenSan fishermen were a delight to see. They were willing to pose for pictures and even smile when in front of the camera. And because I am such a loser, I did not bring my camera. Olats din ako minsan mag-assume e. I assumed that because we were going to the port it would be very rowdy and crowded. That I will attract too many of the fishermen and we will be eyed all over. That was the dumbest thing I thought about the people of GenSan. The fishport was actually orderly and organized. It was such a shame on my part that I assumed otherwise.

So I just grabbed a few pictures from Kat to show you how it was in the Fish Port of GenSan.

Till next time.