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BINMALEY, Pangasinan — Who raised the finest bangus (milkfish) this year?
HEAVIEST BANGUS Judilyn Bautista (second from right) is flanked by representatives of Tateh Aquafeeds as she displays her bangus weighing 1,880 grams that topped the heaviest milkfish contest in Binmaley, Pangasinan’s Sigay Festival on Jan. 30, 2025. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
That was the question judges sought to answer at the Tateh Aquafeeds Siksik-Laki: Bangus Good-looking Contest on Thursday at the Training Center here, a highlight of the town's Sigay Festival celebration.
From 14 bangus entries cultivated in this town's ponds and cages, judges meticulously assessed each fish based on physical appearance, belly shape and fat thickness.
They examined which of them had the clearest, round eyes, finest and smoothest scales, and well-rounded bellies before slic-ing them open to determine which had the thickest fat.
In the end, the entry of Reynaldo Abalos of Canaoalan village earned the highest score of 93.5 percent, making it the runaway winner. Abalos won a cash prize and personalized items.
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Dulce Marie Francisco, Tateh Aquafeeds' area sales manager for northwest Luzon, said that the company has been sponsoring the event for the past eight years to support Pangasinan's aquaculture industry and its bangus farmers.
"We want to encourage local fish farmers to enhance their craft and explore business opportunities that contribute to the ban-gus industry," Francisco said.
Aside from the contest, Tateh Aquafeeds also conducted a seminar on sustainable and profitable aquaculture and a training on bangus deboning, sun-drying and marination.
This town is a major bangus producer in Pangasinan, with 3,291 hectares of fishponds yielding an average of 2.3 metric tons per hectare annually. The town also cultivates prawns, tilapia and malaga.
Aside from the good-looking bangus competition, the heaviest fish contest was also held.
Among the 14 entries, Louie Buenafe raised the heaviest hito weighing 3,660 grams. The entry of Judilyn Bautista of Gayaman village bested 14 other bangus when she brought a 1,880-gram milkfish to win the contest. For the heaviest malaga, Miraflor Gutierrez of Biec village won with her entry weighing 616 grams, besting 10 other entries.
