TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (PIA) – – Recognizing the importance of crab production to the livelihood and income of the people in the municipality of Buguey, Cagayan, Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. recently signed an Administrative Order declaring the town of Buguey as the ‘Crab Capital of North Luzon’.
Regional Executive Director Rose Mary G. Aquino of the Department of Agriculture Region 2 and Regional Director Dr. Angel B. Encarnacion of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Region 2, personally conferred the award to the Local Government Unit of Buguey received by Mayor Licerio M. Antiporda III during the celebration of its 3rd Guraman and Malaga Festival on July 26.
Following the declaration, Antiporda said they are now more challenged and invigorated to boost the crab industry in their municipality.
“With more than 1,500 fishponds, and with 14 kilometers of brackish water, we hope to improve production and aspire to become the Crab Capital of the Philippines upscaling 30 MT harvest annually that we have at present,” Antiporda said in an interview with DA.
Buguey is a 3rd class municipality located in the Northern Philippines with a diversified ecology and a thriving crab industry, which has 40 percent or 45.78 Metric tons total share in the overall 70.5 percent mud crab production in the Northern part of the country in the year 2023.
The town also played vast support in Region 02’s economy eventually generating employment opportunities and supporting ancillary businesses, such as feed suppliers, processing facilities, and transport services and has served as a mud crab production hub for the past 10 years.
The title grant for the municipality of Buguey was an offshoot also of its strategic location to the local consumers that made it accessible to major urban centers, facilitating the efficient distribution of fresh mud crab in the country, according to Aquino.
“Buguey is rich in natural resources and crab is one commodity that thrives in the river. It has a hatchery for crablets too, with DOST, CSU, and BFAR helping technically,” said Encarnacion.
“With AO 264, Amending Fisheries Administrative Order No. 264, Series of 2020, entitled Regulation on the Catching, Possession, Transporting, Selling, Trading and Exporting of Mangrove Crablets, Juvenile Mangrove Crabs and Gravib Mangrove Crab, the municipality can improve its crab production,” he added.
The Department of Trade and Industry has also invited Buguey to the Hong Kong Seafoods Expo 2024, according to Mayor Antiporda, where they are going to showcase and present the potential of their commodities such as mangrove crab, malaga and guraman.
Every year, Buguey celebrates the Crab Festival with an open lunch as the main highlight of the event where one metric ton of crabs cooked by residents is served. (OTB/MDCT/With reports from DA and BFAR/PIA Cagayan)
