Pangasinan’s ‘fish bowl’ girds for first-ever Sugpo Fest

BINMALEY, Pangasinan — Sugpo (prawns), considered the locals’ "hidden wealth," will take the centerstage on Feb. 2 as this town, known as the "Fish Bowl of Pangasinan," holds its first-ever Sugpo Festival during its fiesta celebration.

Municipal administrator Josefina Victorio told The STAR that preparations are underway for the event, which hopes to make the public aware that Binmaley produces the best tiger prawns in the province.

The Sugpo Festival committee, chaired by councilor Leo Urmaza, is holding, among other activities, a dinner-for-a-cause, at P500 per plate, with sugpo, locally known as bingalo, cooked in different ways, as well as malaga (siganid), another top produce of the town. The diners also get to enjoy ballroom dancing at the auditorium.

Earlier in the day, municipal employees, clad in costumes depicting the sugpo and malaga, will take part in street-dancing. The festival’s proceeds will be used to construct a balikbayan park.

Unknown to many, Mayor Simplicio Rosario said Binmaley has the biggest fishpond hectarage in the entire province.

He said local prawns have the best quality and are sold in Bulacan, nearby provinces and Metro Manila and are even exported.

"I am sure that the people will have their most memorable fiesta ever because for the first time, we want to tell the whole world that we have sugpo as the hidden wealth of this quiet yet beautiful town in Pangasinan," Rosario said.

Aside from sugpo and malaga, bangus (milkfish), tilapia and crabs abound here.

Municipal agriculturist Fernando Ferrer said 438 fishfarmers are culturing prawns in a total of 791.17 hectares, and produce 565 metric tons of sugpo in two harvests annually.

The peak months are from November to April when there are more holidays and people love to eat sugpo in gatherings.

Binmaley, located between the business district of Dagupan City and the capital town of Lingayen, has a total land area of 6,120 hectares, of which 3,200 are devoted to fishponds. Of its 33 barangays, only two do not have fishponds.

The sugpo fry, aside from the ones produced here, comes from hatcheries in Dagupan City and Labrador and Bolinao towns.

The town’s average annual income from sugpo production is estimated at P271.439 million.

Tiger prawns produced here cost from P340 to P480 per kilo, and when sold outside the province, fetch as high as P600 per kilo.

From fry to harvest, tiger prawns take about four to five months to culture.

Traditionally, local fishfarmers were into monoculture prawn farming, feeding their fry with lumut (algae). But through the years, they have gone into polyculture, mixing sugpo fry with bangus and malaga in one fishpond and feeding them with commercial feeds.