Dagupan celebrates ‘bangus’ bounty even without staging festival

RIVER SEEDING  – A fisherman prepares to release bags of “bangus” (milkfish) fingerlings into Dawel River in Dagupan City as government officials lead the seeding of waterways to mark the aquaculture industry’s contribution to the local economy. The pandemic has forced Dagupan officials to drop this year’s staging of the Bangus Festival. —WILLIE LOMIBAO

DAGUPAN CITY—For the second straight year, the local government has scrapped the monthlong Bangus Festival to avoid large crowds that could spread COVID-19.

In the absence of tourist-drawing events, a small group of officials on Thursday released at least 1,000 milkfish fingerlings into Dawel River, one of the city’s seven rivers known for producing “bangus,” the top product of Dagupan.

Fishermen in the city’s island villages also received some 60,000 bangus fry donated by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in the Ilocos region.

The city could not stage what could have been the 21st edition of the festival, which began in 2001, because of the pandemic, said Mayor Brian Lim.

Mass gathering is still prohibited even as Dagupan remains under a modified general community quarantine, the most relaxed quarantine status.Lim said the release of bangus fingerlings was their “simple gesture” to mark the occasion that put the city on the tourism map when it staged the longest bangus barbecue in 2002 that was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.

“The rivers have given us countless blessings through the years, it is just fitting that we try to take care of them, and help in regenerating its resources,” Lim said.

He also announced the city government’s plans to reopen the river cruise, a popular tourist attraction, on a limited capacity to help local tourism bounce back. —YOLANDA SOTELO