DOLORES, Abra (PIA) – The dry spell did not wither the hopes of an Abrenian fisherfolk to earn money at the height of the El Niño weather phenomenon.
In fact, Marlow Balneg took advantage of the scorching heat to produce daing (dried fish).
His daing production began when he noted that his tilapia fishpond began to dry out last February.
Balneg said he was forced to harvest earlier to avoid greater financial loss. Since smaller fishes are not marketable, he tried making them into daing.
The fisherman is from barangay Kimmalaba, Dolores, and is a member of the Kimmalaba Fisherfolk Association. He is now earning extra income with the freshly packed daing that he sells in municipality. His products are also available at the One Town, One Product (OTOP) hub of Abra and other retail stores.
Balneg is one of the beneficiaries of the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program of the DA-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources who received 2,000 pieces of fingerlings.
“Idi February, madlaw kon nga bumasbassit ti danum na dagiti fish pond ko, ket dagiti alagak nga tilapia, haan da nga dimmakel, isu nga nakapanunot nak nga aramidek laengen nga dried tilapia ta haan met malakon dagiti babassit,” he recalled.
[In February, I observed that the water level of my fish ponds was decreasing fast, so the tilapia were not growing well, so not very marketable, so I thought of making the tilapia into dried fish for value added.]
However, he really did not have the expertise in dried fish production. But through the assistance of the local government unit (LGU) of Dolores, and the BFAR-Abra Provincial Fishery Office, Balneg decided to venture into dried fish production. He started making ‘daing’ in his own backyard
Balneg showed the process of making his daing .He starts by trimming the fins of the tilapias, cutting it in half and removing its guts, gills and belly. He rinses it numerous times to ensure that it is clean and will not develop any kind of odor. He then marinates the tilapias with a special wine, garlic and black pepper for 36 hours.
After the marinating process, the tilapia are spread out in a huge net for sun drying. It
takes another 48 hours for the tilapia to completely dry up.
“Immay metten bimmisita ti DTI ket tinulongadak met ti packaging na daytoy produktok, uray DOLE nag request kami ti drying facility tapno ad- adu ti maaramid ko kuma,” he said.
[DTI visited me and helped me in the packaging of my product. Also with DOLE, we requested for a drying facility so that I can produce more.]
“Agpasalamat nak ti BFAR-CAR SAAD program ta daytoy adu nga tulong da kaniak, nangruna ti pamiliak ken asosasion ko, sapay kuma ta saan kayo nga ma-umuma a mangtultulong kaniami tapno ma-improve mi daytoy business mi,” he expressed.
[I thank the BFAR-CAR SAAD program for their assistance, especially for my family and for the association. Hopefully you will not get tired of helping us so that we can improve our business.]
Balneg sells his dried tilapia products at an affordable price. He sells a regular pack of dried tilapia for P100 only, and P50 for the small packs.
To sustain his dried tilapia venture, he gets his supply from his fellow fisherfolks.
In an interview with SAAD Program Dolores Area Coordinator Christine Tamo, she explained that there are two fisherfolk associations that receive fingerlings under the program.
“Under the SAAD program our fisherfolk will be given free fingerlings and various post-harvest materials. Here in Dolores, members of the West Poblacion- Kimmalaba Fisherfolk Association and Isit Fisherfolk association were given a total of 20,000 pieces of fingerlings,” she said.
SAAD is one of the priority thrusts of the DA in alleviating poverty among the marginalized sector of agriculture and fisheries.
To support local fisherfolk and their families, you can buy Marlow’s Dried Tilapia by contacting 0955-279-6882 or message West Poblacion and Kimmalaba Fisherfolk
Association Facebook page. (CAGT-PIA CAR, Abra)
