Dagupan Blue Tahong is coming!
ANOTHER STAR IN THE MAKING?
AFTER the famed Dagupan Bangus, will the city soon a have another star in “Dagupan Blue Tahong”?
This prospect struck the consciousness of the city’s fisherfolk after news of mussels (colored blue) were gathered at a river in this city, and samples of which have been sent to the United States for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing.
Dr. Westly Rosario, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) center chief here, quoting Dr. Michael Rice, a fish scientist, said this is the first time he heard of the existence of blue mussels in South East Asia.
Rosario said only green-lipped or brown mussels are harvested here, and the brown mussels have no economic value and are very small in size. Only the green-lipped offers good returns.
The blue mussels species discovered along the coastal waters of Sitio Tocok, Barangay Lucao, are found only in California, New Zealand, France, Canada, Turkey, Northern China and in Mediterranean areas.
Rosario said it was reported before that no less than President Aquino ate blue mussels in his visit to Belgium.
“It’s expensive, I think two euros each piece in perhaps first class restaurants,” Rosario said.
“To our mind, this (found in Dagupan) is the variety in California where some areas are also not so cold so the DNA would establish that,” he said.
Rosario said since mussels are not the swimming type, “so maybe in its evolution, it had variety, so there could be variety in cold and in not so cold areas”.
The blue mussels were given to Rosario by Alfredo Dawana, a known fish farmer in the city. Rosario said his family loved its taste.
In turn samples of blue mussels were given to Rice, a constant visitor of BFAR Dagupan, to determine if the blue mussels found here are the same as the ones harvested abroad, Rosario said. (Tita Roces)
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