Appendix 1

PROPOSALS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A FISHING PORT AT DALAHICAN

1. INTRODUCTION

The fisheries development programme in the Philippines has, up to now, concentrated mainly on the development of the production side of the industry, especially on the introduction of new improved fishing gear and fishing methods such as purse-seining and deep-sea trawling, with good results. There has been a considerable increase in the fishing fleet of larger modern steel fishing vessels, and there are still more under construction.

Along with this expansion of the fishing fleet, there is a very strong need to construct fishing ports able to accommodate the increasing number of vessels, and to provide proper marketing and distribution facilities to handle the increasing volume of fish landed. So far, there is not one fishing port in the Philippines where large size deep-sea fishing vessels can dock and unload their catch alongside a quay or pier with proper handling facilities. At Navotas fishlanding, the biggest in the country, the fishing vessels have to anchor far offshore and the catch has to be trans-shipped to the shore and market site by means of amphibians and motorbancas. This procedure is not only costly but it delays the unloading, with unfavourable effects on the quality of the fish.

Although plans are being formulated for constructing a new fish market at Navotas on the area reclaimed by the Fisheries Commission, the problem of accommodating the increasing fishing fleet is still not solved, and there is a need for fishing ports outside the Manila area.

When planning a fishing port, a suitable location is governed largely by its geographical and physical features, availability of land, and the marketing possibilities. For Dalahican at the southern part of Tayabas Bay, these criteria are favourable.

2. GEOGRAPHICAL AND PHYSICAL FEATURES OF DALAHICAN

Dalahican has a favourable location at the southern part of Tayabas Bay, about 6 km southeast of Lucena City. There is good road connection to Lucena City and other cities and towns in southern Luzon as well as to Manila. Dalahican is close to the fishing grounds in Tayabas Bay and Sibuyan Sea, which can cut down sailing time by 18–20 hours compared with that to Manila, some 140 nautical miles distant. Consequently more time could be spent on actual fishing.

Dalahican is situated at a natural bay, sheltered against the northeast winds by the main land of Southern Luzon and sheltered against the southwest winds by a small tongue of land ending at Tayabas Point. These winds are the most prevailing seasonal winds, so that a fishing port at Dalahican will provide protection for the fishing fleet throughout the year.

The physical factors relating to the condition of the sea bottom are, as far as can be seen from available maps and charts, also favourable. These however, need to be examined and surveyed by specialists in port and harbour construction. According to the charts, the bottom consists mainly of sand and mud with a few rocky spots. Dredging of the harbour will be necessary to provide a minimum depth of, say, 20 feet (ft).

3. AVAILABILITY OF LAND AT DALAHICAN

Since the land around the bay of Dalahican is private property, the proposed area for the port facilities has to be reclaimed. The filling material can be taken from the area which has to be dredged. The area to be reclaimed is roughly estimated to be about 40 ha, but this can be done in several steps according to the requirements.

4. MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION POSSIBILITIES AT DALAHICAN

The wholesale marketing of fish in Central and Southern Luzon is concentrated at Navotas fishlanding, where most of the fishing vessel operators are also located. The landing facilities at Navotas leave much to be desired, especially when an increase in fleet is considered. There is, therefore, good reason to believe that many of the distant water fishing vessels would land their catch at Dalahican if proper handling and berthing facilities were available, especially when fishing in the Visayan area.

According to a survey conducted on the distribution and flow of fish from the Navotas landing to the provinces, the amount of fish distributed to Quezon and neighbouring provinces such as Laguna, Batangas and Cavite was about 50 percent of the total volume distributed to the provinces in Central and Southern Luzon.

There is good reason to believe, therefore, that if a proper fish market is established in Dalahican, many of the fish traders would go there to buy their fish, as it is closer to their homes.

As a rule, the prices of fish in Central and Southern Luzon are higher than in the Visayan and Southern Provinces, because of a shortage of landings. This may attract fishing vessel operators in the Visayan area to land part of their fish in Dalahican and thus contribute to the supply of fish to the South and Central Luzon area, whenever there is a surplus of fish in the Visayas. The fish can be landed either by the catchers directly or by carriers

At present there are no landing facilities for bigger vessels. The vessels are also anchored offshore and the fish brought ashore in small motorbancas.

5. TYPE AND SIZE OF FACILITIES TO BE CONSTRUCTED

When the site for a fishing port has been selected, the problems arise of what size of port and what kind of facilities should be provided, and what volume of fish can be expected.

If the present landed volume of fish is used to determine the size of the port, construction may not be worthwhile. The plans must be based on the volume of fish that can be expected to be landed when the proper facilities are made available.

The port must be safe for navigation during all weather conditions; therefore, the breakwaters must be constructed first. Next docking space must be constructed so that the vessels can dock alongside a quay for unloading the catch and loading ice, fuel and other supplies for the next trip.

The fish market and ice plant must be placed as close to the dock-side as possible to allow quick unloading of fish and unloading of ice. Consequently, the area in which the market and ice plant are to be constructed has to be reclaimed first. The rest of the area can be reclaimed step by step, according to requirements, when the port has been in operation for sometime.

Suggestions for reclamation in steps are shown on the attached sketch:

6. FEASIBILITY FOR COMBINATION OF INTER-ISLAND TRAFFIC TO NEIGHBOURING ISLANDS

The location of Dalahican is also favourable for inter-island traffic to the neighbouring islands as Mindoro, Marinduque, and the Bondoc Peninsula. At present small cargo and passenger boats land at Cotta, in Tayabas River, which can only be approached during high tide. With the development of a port at Dalahican that is navigable around the clock and during all types of weather, better safety for the passengers and ships will be provided, and vessels will be able to keep to schedules.

7. RECOMMENDATION

Implementation of the above proposals for the construction of a fishing port at Dalahican will contribute to the development of the fishing industry in the Philippines. It is therefore recommended that they be taken up for further discussions by the proper authorities.

FIG. 1				FIG. 2
LANDING OF COMMERCIAL FISHING VESSELS ACCORDING TO PLACES IN 1967				MONTHLY PRODUCTION OF COMMERCIAL FISHING VESSEL - 1967
1 - CADIZ	21 150 560 Kg.	-	6.40%
2 - ILOILO	14 849 000 Kg.	-	4.50%
3 - BACOLOD	8 445 800 Kg.	-	2.55%
4 - LUCENA	6 242 880 Kg.	-	1.88%
5 - OTHER PLACES	56 947 520 Kg.	-	17.20%
6 - MANILA	22 388 200 Kg.	-	67.47%

- SHIPPING CONTAINER - FIG. 3

INSIDE DIMENSION

THICKNESS OF WOOD

CAPACITY

FIG. 4

- COVER ARRANGEMENT FOR INSULATED SHIPPING CONTAINER -

(CONTAINER SHOULD BE LINED INSIDE WITH 1mm GALVANIZED SHEET)

FIG. 5

- DESIGN OF FISH BOXES -

	Approx. 35 Kg. fish box (52.5 L) End piece ¾" thick Bottom, side boards ½" Top strips 2 ½"wide, ½" thick Approx 50 Kg. fish box (82.5 L) As above, except height 12" (11")
	Approx. 15 Kg. fish box (23.6 L) End piece ¾" thick Bottom & side board ½" Top strips 2 ½" wide, ½" thick

FIG. 6

- PROPOSAL FOR DALAHICAN FISHING PORT -
AREA TO BE RECLAIMED Appr. 40 Ha.
QUAY LENGTH Appr. 3500 m.