Manila: Known as the blue swimming crab capital of Negros Occidental, has launched a weekly eat-all-you-can event to stimulate domestic tourism and boost local seafood demand following a decline in exports. Mayor Matthew Louis Malacon said the municipal government sold 700 kilograms of blue crabs Saturday night, bringing an estimated PHP340,000 in sales.

According to Philippines News Agency, Malacon stated, "That's what we generated from the entrance of unlimited crabs alone. I have yet to get the data of the sales for ala carte meals. Based on their feedback, their food items also sold out," he said in a media interview on Sunday. Malacon noted that they initially prepared 400 kg of blue crabs, but the influx of guests prompted them to source 300 kg more.

"It's a big success. In just a couple of hours, the 700 kg of crabs were sold out. More or less 800 people came. We would have wanted to accommodate more, we did not expect such (a) number of people to join us," he added. The locals were joined by visitors from other local government units, including highly urbanized Bacolod City.

The municipal government's 'Sabado Nights' eat-all-you-can event for the entire August aims to assist local crab pickers and fisherfolk affected by the United States ban on the Philippine blue swimming crab exports since June 11. Malacon said that to counter reduced prices of only PHP120 to PHP140 per kg, the municipal government directly purchased the catch at PHP300 per kg from local vendors and fisherfolk in nine coastal villages.

"This not only provides immediate economic relief. We hope the event will also strengthen domestic tourism," he said. Negros Occidental is home to about 20 crab-picking stations, hundreds of landing sites, thousands of crab fishers and crab pickers, and two major crab processing and export facilities, making the province particularly vulnerable to the impact of the US market closure.

In May this year, the US National Marine Fisheries Service said the restriction stemmed from inadequate documentation on mandatory marine mammal protection and bycatch monitoring programs. During his visit to Negros Occidental last week, Department of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said the US government has allowed the Philippines to reapply for market access. Laurel said the country is eyeing to submit its application by September, with hopes of securing approval within the year.