Bangus (milkfish) is the Philippine national fish. But because someone close to a Philippine president had been granted a franchise to smuggle out bangus fry, Taiwan now grows the species in large fish ponds. In the event, the price of Bangus threatens to spike out of reach of the common tao. Enter the galunggong – Decapterus maruadsi (Temminck & Schlegel). This poor man’s fish from Palawan, Zambales, Davao, and Zamboanga is so popular in the Philippines that a pundit joked it just might as well replace bangus as our national fish.

Zaide, J. A. (2018, August 27). Something fishy around our waters. Manila Bulletin, p. 11.