Tons of flying fish grilled in Bangsi Festival
MAITUM, SARANGANI — Visitors and local folks feasted over two tons of flying fish grilled along the main street of the town as the culmination of the 9th Bangsi Festival. Bangsi, the local term for flying fish, is Maitum fisherfolk’s most valued catch and best eaten when marinated and half-dried.
Marinated bangsi became Maitum’s OTOP (One Town, One Product) and has been a good source of income for households and small enterprises here. The Bangsi Festival is celebrated annually on the last week of January as a tribute to its fisherfolk. As a coastal town in Sarangani province, thousands of households here also depend on the fishing industry as their main source of livelihood. Bangsi is fished all year round but its peak season is from September to May.
