Rodel
Vargas, 51, proudly shows off a 10kg bankolis. – More MWBuzzpics by ALFREDO P
HERNANDEZ after the story.
By ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ
Editor, MWBuzz
ONE morning last April, I visited the
fish port in Mercedes, a bustling fishing town in CamNorte, and immediately
fell in love with the shiny, deep-blue-skinned tuna I just fondled.
For all you know, I first saw the fish
port in 1981.
It was standing all by itself next to
the bay water at the tip of the national road, and the nearest house was some
100 meters away, or even farther, and what you could see on your left all the way
to the fish port was the blue waters of Mercedes Bay
How times have changed, because coming
here that morning, I lost my way, my sense of direction screwed up by piles and
piles of houses that now took over both sides of national road, and the bay
waters were nowhere to be seen.
I asked the fish port
manager/caretaker, 51-year-old Rodel Vargas, where the “bankolis” I was holding
and the heaps and heaps of other tuna packed in about 20 huge styrofoam boxes,
came from. (Bankolis, a local tuna name, is one of the tuna species.)
Vargas replied: … Mambulao … they were
just delivered here in a big refrigerated truck.
Surprised, I asked again: Oww….Mambulao
… how did it happen?
I told him I was from Mambulao and was
just bumming around at their fish port.
“The bankolis was caught somewhere near
Mambulao by a commercial operator and was landed at the port in Osmena … then,
a viajero brought it here for final delivery to Navotas …” Vargas explained.
(Osmena is a baranggay just outside in the northern tip of Jose Panganiban
where a municipal fish port is located.)
“But why land it in JP only to be
brought here… bakit di na lang sila dumeretso dito sa Mercedes and unload the
fish here…?”
“It’s a common practice among
commercial operators plying near Mambulao
Bay
I asked: Do they pay anything for
whatever they landed every time at Osmenia? Meaning … is the municipal
government earning something from catch landed at its port?”
Answer: “I really don’t know … but when
the fish gets here, it is assessed for tariff duties and the viajero pays …
then if he wants to sell it to a second buyer, it’s up to him…”
But as far as the Mercedes fish port is
concerned, it’s making tons from the fish coming in.
Like for instance today, there were
about 100 styrofoam boxes of bankolis that had been assessed for tariff duties.
Each box contained an average of 10 heads, each weighing from 10kg to 15kg.
“We collected about P1,200 today from
“bankolis” alone …there had also been other fish such as galunggong (skuds),
maya-maya and dilis (anchovies).”
Vargas said the fish fort charges P12
per box, which is broken down into three items – unloading - P4; transferring – P4; and marketing – P4.
He was proud because they operate an
integrated fish trading facility that has become an icon in CamNorte.
In fact, the place is famous for its
“bulungan” trading, where the haggling for prices are done secretly through
whispering mode: the buyer whispers his bid to the fish-owner, who would keep
the info to himself until he heard the best bid from others. The highest bid
gets the fish.
“Dito ang bagsakan ng mga huli galling
sa iba’t ibang fishing ground sa Quezon province at sa Bicol … may yelo kami rito
at refrigeration facilities … sagana sa tubig at koryente.”
He said the fish port employs about 20
men who do the unloading, hauling and other jobs.
For all you know, the town of Mercedes Pacific Ocean as does (Mambulao) Jose Panganiban.
But the bay here is free from pollution
unlike Mambulao Bay
Fish in Mambulao Bay
When one of the mining silt ponds of
mountain-perched Johson Gold Mining Corp collapsed recently and released more
than 200 tons of mining wastes that instantly flooded a community below it,
baranggay officials in Bagong-bayan noted that there had been no “fish kill”
despite the tons of mining wastes and debris that ended up on the shallow
portion of the coastal water.
“There was no more fish to kill in Mambulao Bay
He added, tonge-in-cheek: Fish at the
bay has migrated to Quezon and Mercedes, scared away by silt pollution.
The bay water in Mercedes is deep and
very green, suggesting that it has maintained its natural state where fish
thrives well, thus assuring there would more for the small fishermen to catch
the next day.
The fish port facility boast of a deep
docking area that caters to the needs of big fishing boats as well as a jetty
that accommodates fishing vessel waiting to come near to the market area.
Likewise, in front of the massive fish
trading hall, where the “bulungan” deals are being made daily is a spacious,
paved parking lot for big fish-hauling trucks. Everyday, many of this type would
park here, waiting to be uploaded with catch destined for Bicol and Metro
Manila.
“It’s a big boost to our small
fishermen because they can trade their catch here and get better price for
their goods,” Vargas said of the fish port.
It is quite amazing that on the other
side of the tall concrete wall that stands on the edge of the parking lot are a
long row of big and small houses that seemed to elbow one another for a rare
glimpse of the fish – big and small - being landed in big volumes at the port
every morning.
Yes! I think this is 1what makes the
town of Mercedes
Fish truck waits to be uploaded with catch bound either for Navotas fish market or Bicol.
A typical day at the Mercedes fish
port, where tons of catch are unloaded everyday.
A group huddles during a “bulungan”
session at the fish port.
The
facility by the edge of the bay water.
A
group of fishermen leave the boat dock after trading their catch. Some
locally-owned fishing boats are seen anchored nearby.
Fish buyers await their chance to
haggle for a better price.
A
portion of the fish port’s docking area.
The trading hall now almost empty.
Tomorrow will be another busy day, when loads of catch are brought in from
different fishing grounds, including that of Mambulao Bay
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