Street Market

Fresh, still wriggling, scrumptious and exotic seafood. That is what Lianga, as a coastal town, has always been known for in this remote part of Mindanao.

Even nowadays when the local fish catch is dwindling due to overfishing and the persistent use of environmentally unsound fishing practices, the town is still a mecca for fish and seafood lovers from within and outside the Caraga region. Local beach resorts, for example, always make sure they have ample stocks of fresh fish, squid and lobsters for their out of town clientele.


Many outsiders, in fact, assert that the local sea fare tastes exquisitely different from the scientifically cultured and artificially fattened marine products of many of its neighboring coastal towns. This is a point, of course, all the local fishermen can agree upon and attest to wholeheartedly and enthusiastically.

Locals get their seafood supplies either from the public market, from ambulant vendors who peddle their goods through the neighborhood streets or from sidewalk markets like the one seen in the pictures. This particular street market is located in the northern edge of the town and right beside the national highway.

Shopping for seafood there can net you good bargains you can't get at the town market, that is if you don't mind checking out the food displays with vehicle traffic whizzing by and rushing past disconcertingly just a meter or so behind your back. But then, if you are a connoisseur of fine and fresh seafood that can be had at affordable prices then a little risk and inconvenience is, in this case, a small price to pay.