FALSE: Galunggong is the easiest fish to raise

2 MIN READ

By SHERWIN DE VERA
www.nordis.net

Originally published on Rappler.com on March 10, 2022, under the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship program.

At a glance

• Claim: Galunggong or round scad (Decapterus macrosoma) is the easiest fish to raise.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: Fish farming of galunggong is still at its early experimental stage.
• Why we fact-check this: In his March 8 interview on DZRJ, presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. claimed that galunggong was the easiest fish to grow. The Philippine Star published a video of the interview and a quote card on the particular part of his statement on its Facebook. The video now has more than 1,500 reactions, 671 comments, and 19,000 views, while the quote card has received more than 19,000 reactions, 6,600 comments, and shared 3,800 times.

Complete details

“I cannot still believe that we are importing galunggong. How is this possible? We occupy, we are an archipelagic country. Ang pinakamadaling alagaan ay galunggong. Hindi ba pangmahirap nga dapat ‘yan? You can get that anywhere, di ba, tapos nag-i-import tayo,” said the UniTeam’s standard bearer.

As of writing, the video has more than 1,500 reactions, 671 comments, and 19,000 views. Meanwhile, the quote card has been shared more than 3,800 times and received more than 19,000 reactions and 6,600 comments.

This claim is false.

Growing galunggong is still in its early experimental stage, according to a March 7 article on the Department of Agriculture’s website. 

The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center-Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC-AQD) recently had a breakthrough of spawning the fish in captivity, considered first in the world. Researchers are still conducting more studies on the fish’s development, feeding habits, and procedures to reproduce and grow it under captivity. The study is part of a project funded by the Japanese government to develop aquaculture technologies for new species, including mackerel tuna and flathead lobster.

SEAFDEC-AQD chief Dan Baliao was quoted in the article, saying they had yet “to roll out the technology and promote the culture of galunggong.”

In 2021, the country harvested 180,173 metric tons of galunggong from commercial fishing and municipal marine waters, amounting to P14.780 million. In January 2022, the DA approved the importation of galunggong, citing first quarter supply shortage of 119,000 metric tons. # nordis.net