It was in the late 80’s when they started conceptualizing the General Santos Fish Port Complex (GSFPC). It was born out of the vision of the General Santos fishing industry– the industry that foresaw the growth of tuna fishing and all other attendant opportunities available to them given the appropriate post harvest infrastructure support from the government. In fact, it was the present President of SOCKSARGEN Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries, Inc., Mr. Marfenio Tan who pinpointed to then DA Secretary Sonny Dominguez the exact location where the GSFPC now stands. And it was then Mayor Adel Antonino who persuaded the Yabon family to sell the 32-hectare site to the DA/PFDA.

Photographed by: Rudy Mariscal

Thus in 1998, the PFDA – the national government’s fisheries post harvest infrastructure arm, operationalized the GSFPC with the vision of providing services and contributing to the country’s food security by supporting an environmentally sustainable and globally competitive fishing industry through technologically advanced fisheries post harvest facilities and infrastructure.” True enough, the Gensan fishing industry further grew in phenomenal scale, expanding its markets from Japan to the US and Europe.

With the advent of world trade liberalization, many states or state organizations particularly in the European Union set as a pre-requisite in securing access to the their markets the HACCP principles of food safety as prescribed by the World Health Organization.

Giving special attention to the General Santos Tuna Industry, the EU sent an inspection team midway (July) in 2005 and assessed HACCP compliance of private tuna processing plants and the GSFPC, considered by them as the backbone of the tuna processing industry in General Santos.

Unfortunately, the EU mission then found the GSFPC unappealing. The surroundings were unsanitary, building structures were too attractive to pests, businesses were disorganized, workers were in unhealthy attire, fish handling practices were unhygienic, time-temperature abuse on tuna products was prevalent, and the port’s GMP/SSOP plan was obscure, among other inadequacies.

Rather than perceiving this as a restricting act by the EU, the PFDA treated the EU mission as a positive indication of the interest of European markets in tuna products coming from the Philippines and a big challenge in transforming the GSFPC into a HACCP compliant port complex.

With the principal objective of fishing for a greater and permanent niche for Gensan tuna products in the global market, the PFDA initiated the consolidation of the efforts of the national government, the city government and the private sector and worked successfully together under a Task Force headed by no less than the energetic Mayor Jun Acharon for a transformation that completely revolutionized the face of the Gensan fishing industry, in general and the GSFPC, in particular.

It has been an arduous task, a grueling journey because decades-old fishing and fish handling methods were extremely difficult to amend in a very short period of time. Tradition that has become a way of life, and to some, a source of pride, was too painstaking to correct. But to etch their mark in the global market, they need to yield to international demands. This does not mean, however, that they have forsaken our beginnings. They have simply relinquished them for a fresh source of pride and that is to be known and well-thought of worldwide.