Farmers and fisherfolks hold congress

 GENERAL SANTOS CITY (27 May 2015) - City Mayor Ronnel Rivera, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources head Sammy Malvar, City Agriculturist Merlinda Donasco and City Councilor Brix "Liklik" Tan, chairman of the Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, open the 2nd Farmers and Fisherfolks Congress at Lagao Gymnasium Monday, May 25. The congress aims to address the issues that farmers and fishermen of the city are facing right now, as well as to teach them innovative methods for better production and income. (Gensan CPIO/ Russell Delvo)

Gensan produces dried fish too

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (6 May 2015) - Aside from being the Tuna Capital of the Philippines, Gensan is also a producer and market of varieties of dried fish, especially in Barangay Calumpang. These are being sold to neighboring areas in Region 12. (Gensan CPIO/ Russell Delvo)

Fishing tools for Dadiangas South residents

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (6 May 2015) - The City Agriculturist’s Office gives fishing inputs to 42 recipients from Barangay Dadiangas South during the city government's Barangayan on April 24. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources provided the fishing gears.  (Gensan CPIO/ Jan Rey P. Libunao)

Fishing tools for Bawing residents

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (9 March 2015) - With the help of Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, City Mayor Ronnel Rivera and the City Agriculturist’s Office give fishing inputs to 39 fishermen of Bawing during the city government's "Barangayan" Friday, March 6. (Gensan CPIO/ Russell Delvo)

Mayor Rivera funds fisheries school’s repair

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (18 November 2014) - City Mayor Ronnel Rivera inspects one of the inundated classrooms of Bula National School of Fisheries on November 14 subsequent to his PTA Donation Program. Mayor Rivera will allocate P700,000  for the improvement of the drainage system and elevation of ground floor of the school. (Gensan CPIO/ Russell Delvo)

Gensan hosts 1st National Aquaculture Freshwater Congress

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (14 November 2014) – City Mayor Ronnel Rivera welcomes Senator Cynthia Villar, committee chair on agriculture and food, in the 1st National Aquaculture Freshwater Congress being held in the city Friday, November 14, at SM Gensan. The congress is attended by different stakeholders in the country, discussing matters regarding the sustainability and competitiveness of the freshwater fishing industries in the local and global market. (Gensan CPIO/ Russell Delvo)

Gensan sets largest fish display record

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (15 September 2014) – Gensan cemented its claim as the reigning “Tuna Capital of the Philippines” as it unofficially set a new Guinness World Record for the Largest Fish Display.

Before the celebration of the 16th Tuna Festival has begun, the local government unit of General Santos City (LGU-GSC) headed by City Mayor Ronnel Rivera and the Philippine Fishport Development Authority (PFDA) already divulged their intention to dethrone the Netherlands which holds the world record for the largest fish display.

The Netherlands is the current record holder at only 4.5 metric tons.

On September 11 at the Market 1 Gensan Fishport Complex, 20 different fishing companies participated in the Guinness World Record attempt in the hope of ousting the Netherlands.

The fishing companies lent their fresh yellow-fin tunas for 15 minutes and piled it at the stainless steel bidding tables. Afterwards, they immediately moved the displayed fishes to the weighing scales.

A total of 946 tunas weighing a minimum of 25 kg. each were displayed during the event.

According to the official tabulation by Atty. Rey Cartojano, the fishes weighed about 33,614 kilograms or 33.61 metric tons.

The figure has an overwhelming 29.11 metric tons difference from the current world record.

There was no adjudicator from Guinness present during the attempt.

Nonetheless, the activity was properly documented through photographs, videos, and comprehensive records; copies of which will be sent to the office of the Guinness World Records in London.

The official results and declaration would come three days after the submission of entry.

Gensan Tourism Council chairperson Jane Gollon-Rivera is excited for the results of the said Guinness attempt.

“I am happy that we made it through after a lot of scrupulous preparations and guidelines given by the Guinness World Records. I think with that, I can finally see Gensan holding the title of the largest fish display,” Rivera stated. (Gensan CPIO/Ian John M. Lagare)

Tuna Festival’s largest fish display at fish port

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (11 September 2014) - In celebration of the 16th Tuna Festival, Gensan beats the Netherlands in the Guinness World Records for the Largest Fish Display Thursday, September 11. The latter, which holds the record with 4.5 metric tons, was unofficially dethroned by Gensan with its 33.61 metric tons of fish display. Nonetheless, organizers of the event including City Mayor Ronnel Rivera are waiting for the official decision of the Guinness World Records office. (Gensan CPIO/ Russell Delvo)

Gensan shows largest fish display

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (11 September 2014) - A fish port laborer is arranging the pile of tunas Thursday, September 11,  in the hope to snatch the Guinness World Record for the largest fish display from the Netherlands. (Gensan CPIO/ Russell Delvo)

Gensan aims for largest fish display Guinness record

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (11 September 2014) - In celebration of the 16th Tuna Festival, Gensan beats the Netherlands in the Guinness World Records for the Largest Fish Display Thursday, September 11. The latter, which holds the record with 4.5 metric tons, was unofficially dethroned by Gensan with its 33.61 metric tons of fish display. Nonetheless, organizers of the event including City Mayor Ronnel Rivera are waiting for the official decision of the Guinness World Records office. (Gensan CPIO/ Russell Delvo)

Stakeholders laud Gensan's fishing industry

By IAN JOHN M. LAGARE 

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (06 September 2014) - "This is a city built on Tuna."

This is the statement made by Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Director Atty. Asis D. Perez during the opening of the Trade Fair and Exhibit of the 16th Tuna Congress Thursday (September 04, 2014).

According to Perez, Gensan, as the Tuna Capital of the Philippines, has greatly shaped the fishing economy of the country, as well as helped the local employment generation.

The BFAR director declared the "true heroes" of the fishing industry in the city are the small local fishermen who have worked hard perennially just to catch fishes.

SOCSKSARGEN Fishing Federation and Allied Industries Inc. (SFFAII) president Joaquin Lu added to the words of Perez and emphasized that the tuna economy of Gensan is in good hands.

"Our current administration here in Gensan is always ready to help the fishing sector," Lu stated.

Prior to the 16th Tuna Congress, City Mayor Ronnel Rivera has already invoked that Gensan's fishing industry has been steady in its catches and contribution to the local economy.

He also debunked some claims that the tuna industry in the city is already flunking, and that Gensan has been ousted in its throne as the Tuna Capital of the Philippines by Mindoro.  

In 2013 alone, Gensan has a total fish catch of 167,578,75 tons (152,024,884.74 kilos) compared to the 600,000 kilos of Mindoro in the fusion of their 2012 and 2013 catches.

Regardless of this, Mayor Rivera bared that tuna industry won't pose any significant growth for the years to come due to the strict regulations imposed by foreign countries regarding fishing in international waters. (Gensan CPIO/Ian John M. Lagare)

Tuna Capital of the Philippines

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (26 April 2014) – GenSan fishport teems with tuna as City Mayor Ronnel Rivera declares that General Santos City is still the Tuna Capital of the Philippines. This is in reaction to a World Wildlife Foundation report that Occidental Mindoro is the Philippines’ emerging tuna capital because of the region’s significant increase in tuna catch for the past years. In 2011 and 2012, the Bureau of
Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and WWF reported that Occidental Mindoro has an average of 600,000 kilos of tuna delivered throughout the Philippines and outside the country. Mayor Rivera quickly debunked
the assertions saying, “there are a lot of factors to be considered before a place can be considered as the tuna capital. This would include the number of canneries and fishing industries present and the rate of tuna export every year.” Six out of seven canneries in the Philippines are situated in GenSan. The fishing company of RD Group of Companies alone has an annual catch of about 10,000,000 kilos which is roughly about 11,000 tons. (Photo courtesy of COCOY SEXCION for GENSAN CPIO)

GenSan mayor envisions city to be more than Tuna Capital

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (22 February 2014) – City Mayor Ronnel Rivera has reiterated his goal to make General Santos City as more than just the Tuna Capital of the country.

During the 3rd batch of Barangay New Elected Officials (BNEO) Orientation and Training by the Department of Interior and Local Government recently, Rivera said "we should go beyond becoming just the Tuna Capital of the Philippines."

According to the mayor, based on the Pre-Feasibility Study on the Integrated Economic Development for Regional Trade in General Santos City  conducted by the Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA), GenSan is the fastest growing metropolitan area in Region 12.

CDIA assessed that GenSan has become a major trading area for agricultural products from other provinces of the region.

Mayor Rivera added that his economic agenda focuses on how to make more businesses thrive in the city, thereby promoting diversity and preparing the seedbed for making the city as the Agro-Industrial Hub of the South.

"In order to prepare the city for economic diversity, we will have to update our comprehensive land use plan, investment code, local policies on land and mass transport related concerns, preparation of the city transport master plan, and environmental management plan," Rivera said.

To push for the realization of the city’s economic agenda, the mayor directed the institutionalization of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in the city where private investors will join government in different ventures and initiatives.

Under his major PPP initiatives are the development of food and transportation terminals, agri-plantation, realty, socialized housing, trade and industry and fishing, including projects on environmental and climate change adaptation.

"If we improved on these areas, we can better maximize the opportunity of the growing number of tourist arrivals in the region," Mayor Rivera said.

Nelly Nita Dillera, Department of Tourism regional director, said on Friday that tourist arrivals in SOCKSARGEN have increased by 18 percent. (GENSAN INFO OFFICE/Ian John Lagare)

Rivera bats for P200M to develop fishing industry

GENERAL SANTOS CITY(18 February 2014)  – City Mayor Ronnel Rivera is in partnership with the Mindanao State University-General Santos City (MSU-GSC) and the local fishing industry in trying to get an additional P200 million from Senate Committee Head on Agriculture and Food Senator Cynthia Villar.

During a meeting Monday (February 17), the city mayor disclosed to MSU-GSC Chancellor Abdurrahman Canacan and GenSan's fishing magnates that he is interested on utilizing the P200 million to develop further the city’s fishing industry in its bid to become “more than just the Tuna capital of the Philippines."

Rivera asked everyone's cooperation in coming up with sustainable project proposals that would specify the advancement of the fishing industry of the city. 

"We need to justify to the higher ups that we need the auxiliary budget for GenSan to improve its fishing sales in the global market which in turn, will provide sustainable economy in the country," Rivera said.

Mayor Rivera said that this move will also help address the challenges that the fishing industry has been facing for years, especially in the presence of the South Pacific Tuna Treaty.

During the Economic Summit last October 2013, Rivera expressed that he wanted to diversify GenSan's economy and move away from its heavy reliance on the fishing sector, but the mayor clarified that development aid for the industry must still be advanced as an anchor to the city's growth.

Chancellor Canacan of MSU-GSC suggested that revolutionizing a new curriculum for the marine and fishing courses will be a good threshold for the said project.

Canacan said that only a few undergraduates are taking interest in enrolling in fishing related courses, and may have been the reason why the industry is still suffering.

According to Canacan, MSU-GSC has the highest turn out of enrollees in marine courses in the Philippines, but the number is still very low because it never became a trend venue.

Marfin Tan, president of the SocSKSarGen Fishing Federation and Allied Industries Inc., agreed with Canacan's suggestions and added that the new curriculum should be equipped with comprehensive subjects regarding the modern technicalities of fishing.

Tan said that a part of the P200 million could be used to buy modern fishing equipment such as underwater sonars and radars to expose the students in "actual fishing" methods.

The rest of the fishing magnates in the city expressed their willingness to open their companies for those who are willing undergo as On-The-Job-Trainees (OJTs).

Tan said that Mayor Rivera’s plan is a good move because it foresees things for the fishing business while the rest are not paying attention to it. 

"Mayor Rivera did well on giving importance on the industry. Many thought that we are strong already, but we still need the assistance of the local government," Tan emphasized.

The project proposal will be crafted by the same team with the city mayor after Kalilangan 2014. (GENSAN INFO OFFICE/Ian John M. Lagare)

P200 million fund to boost GenSan fishing industry

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (17 February 2014) – City Mayor Ronnel Rivera gathers top executives of the Mindanao State University-General Santos City and key players of GenSan's fishing industry Monday, February 17, to craft a project proposal to develop further the fishing industry of the city after a P200 million available budget was disclosed by Senator Cynthia Villar, Committe Head of Agriculture and Food. (GENSAN INFO OFFICE/Russell Delvo)