One delightful thing on embarking road trips is the opportunity to witness random activities of the locals and glean nuggets of wisdom from these encounters.š
Last week, when we went to Tuburan for some adrenaline rush and adventure we also dropped by at the towns aquafarm which is almost a hectare wide farm of fishpond filled with Tilapia fish. Our initial plan was to visit the bamboo Forest of Tuburan after our Coffee experience but when we were about to make a turn going to the forest, soon enough, we heard lively voices of locals whose seemed to be catching and harvesting of something.
The moment turned out to be very exciting when we unexpectedly found ourselves how the locals harvested their Tilapia for a restaurant order.
In a blink of an eye, we found ourselves running happily (afraid not see the actual harvest) just to witness on how to harvest these delicious fishes that will surely delight our taste buds when cooked. Haha! The moment turned out to be very exciting fueled by the anticipation of spontaneous scenes.
I visited this farm more than a year ago together with my husband and the pond at that time was still very quiet which meant the owners just started to culture the fish. I was wondering as to what these fishes are for knowing that Tuburan is a coastal town. Fast forward to this year, I learned the answer to my question. The same owner built and opened a restaurant on top of the mountain providing fresh catch fish to their customers. During our recent visit, we were able to witness the harvesting of Tilapia fish for the restaurantās customers.
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The happy harvest!
Though Tilapia is one of my favorite fish to eat, I havenāt seen the process of how to harvest this fish. So it is one of my simple joy to witness the process or the ways in catching this fish from water to our plate. Though I felt sorry for the fish who are about to meet their death on fire.
At first the catchers appeared just to be swimming or taking a dip in the green pool but when one look closer to it, it will be noticed the locals were holding ta net underneath the water. They were skillfully moving from one direction to one corner to trap the fish.
It seems to look enjoyable. As soon as the harvester reached the corner, another locals were waiting on the side of the pond to get and help the catcher gather the net. At this time, each of them joined forces to gather the net and should be very careful to not let a single fish slide and escape.
I was amused of the exiting faces of the fishers, that look that is filled with excitement and anticipation of their bounty harvest by just one stride of the net. It was a simple harvest but turned to be a spectacle of joy.
As soon as the net was pulled up, the fish were bouncing and jumping trying to escape and get back on the water. And this is when you would see the quick hand movement of the locals picking the fish without minding how slippery it is and how they could possibly get hurt of its sharp fish grills.
All this time, I thought Tilapia has only one variety, which is the black one., I was surprised to see that they also have the Red one. (This was one discovery I learned that day).
I enjoyed observing the locals catching and selectively throwing back the Tilapia fish to the pond. They kept the bigger ones and toss back to the pond the small ones. They said, they will let the fish grow to get its average size to ensure a satisfying culinary when its time to cook and serve them.
The fishers mentioned that their quota is to harvest 20kilos in every order. That information left me pondering the vastness of the green fishpond, I couldnāt imagine how many tons of Tilapia were there in that aquatic haven.!
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. I wish you all safe and well always!
Dont forget to ššš¤ always!