The Supply Chain for First-class Fish in the Philippines
- Fisherman catches fish.
- Fisherman sells his catch to the Buyer at the on-site Buying Station. Price: 80 pesos per kilo.
- Buyer has his haul graded for quality at an exporter’s fish buying office. Grades go from A (170 per kilo) to D (100 per kilo).
- Exporter grades the fish and ships the ones it buys.
- Buyer, now with graded fish, sells the remainder in the domestic market.
What’s 100 per kilo? It’s the price the Buying Station was willing to sell this 38-kilo (84-pound) yellowfin.
Yellowfin Tuna - 38 kilos - Caught 24 hours ago - About 1.2 meters long.
The yellowfin tuna live in the shallower parts of the ocean. Most will stay in the shallow parts of the ocean by night and deeper by day. This is attributed to the search for food. Usually the yellowfin tuna will stay in the top one hundred meters of water.
Yellowfins feed on crustaceans, smaller fish and squid. They are built for speed and have no problem capturing bait fish such as flying fish and mackerel.
Adversely the fish also falls prey by other ocean hunters including some larger tunas, predatory fish such as billfish and sharks as well as seabirds. As the fish get larger and faster they are less threatened by smaller fish but even as adults they may fall prey to whales and sharks such as the great white. They will also fall victim to the black or blue marlin. They can generally hold their own against smaller predators. They survive well in the wild, but are such a popular fish that the greatest predator is the industrial fisheries.
Location of the Buying Station
It was in a fishing village situated at the mouth of the river.
The Buying Station was in Bgy Langogan. Note the location of the Underground River (center, top).
Using my camera case to provide a sense of size:
The camera case is 10 centimeters long.
It’s a versatile tool!
Mushrooms sized up. The camera case is 10 centimeters long.
Retired? No way! 