By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
EB Magalona Mayor Marvin Malacon announced during a press conference yesterday, the municipality is ready for the 2nd Ugyonan Seafood Festival, which is scheduled to run from December 9 to 11.
He said the event is expected to attract around 3,000 tourists, along with 55 confirmed guests from South Korea.
The mayor said the upcoming festivities have been a boon to the local fishing industry, as it has resulted in an increase of licenses and permits for fisherfolk.
“We have called on those who are ‘iligalista,’ or those without permits or licenses, to have their businesses registered,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Malacon said he is currently studying plans to ban the harvest of blue crabs, which the municipality is known for.
He explained, a ban would allow for young blue crabs to spawn.
However, the mayor said, if harvesting blue crabs was to be banned, local fisherfolk would be looking to the local government for support.
“We are studying what the government can do to balance all this,” he noted./DGB, WDJ