Fisheries output falls flat in Q2

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s fisheries production slightly improved in the second quarter amid better output in the municipal sector.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that total volume of fisheries went up 0.4 percent to 1.1 million metric tons (MT).

Municipal fisheries registered a 4.3 percent increase in production to 309,862 MT. Of the total volume, 87 percent came from marine municipal fisheries while the rest came from inland.

Commercial fisheries, meanwhile, saw a 2.4 percent decrease in production to 280,813 MT, accounting for 25 percent of the total output.

Aquaculture production reached 548,393 MT, down 0.3 percent. It accounted for the largest share or 48 percent of the total production.

In particular, the common round scad (galunggong) increased by 11 percent to 61,980 MT in output after several quarters of decline.  This was due to more unloadings of bigger sizes and the increased appearance of species and the open season for commercial fishing.

Tilapia production inched up one percent to 85,751 MT owing to good water condition and abundance of natural food in freshwater fishponds.

There was also an increase in stocking density in freshwater fishponds because of the availability of tilapia fingerlings.

Tiger prawn production also went up five percent following the high survival rate of stocks and fry due to normal salinity of water in brackish water fishponds, increased stocking density and good quality of fry.

Production of oysters, lapu-lapu, catfish, yellowfin tuna, frigate tuna, big-eyed scad, squid and mud crab also went up.

Milkfish production, meanwhile, declined by 1.4 percent to 104,600 MT due to intense heat.

The lower production milkfish from marine cages was attributed to less supply of fry and fingerlings, as well as the decrease in area harvested because the species were not yet in marketable sizes.

Production of seaweeds was also down by three percent to 309,226 MT amid a hot weather, the use of poor quality planting materials, and diseases and mosses in some farms.

Skipjack production also declined by 5.6 percent as manifested by the decreased number of fishing vessels unloading skipjack for canneries and reduced unloadings due to the southwest monsoon.

Decline was likewise noted in the production of big-eye tuna, mudfish, mussels, blue crab, Indian mackerel and anchovies.