Municipalities in the Philippines fisheries are losing from P24.1 billion to P37.8 billion per year or from 257,000 to 402,000 metric tons (MT) of fish per year, according to a party-list lawmaker.
During the forum of Tugon Kabuhayan on Tuesday, Dennis Calvan, representing Pangingisda Natin Gawing Tama Network, called on the current administration to address the problems caused by illegal and unreported fishing, and to give continuous support to the fishing industry.
“The whole fishing industry must be supported through addressing the illegal fishing activities and strengthening the structure of the bureau of fisheries,” he said in Filipino.
Calvan added that the 10-Point Philippine Blue Agenda for Sustainable Fisheries also encompasses the concerns and demands of the fishing industry.
According to Oceana, municipal waters in the Philippines are plagued by overfishing caused by “unabated illegal fishing activities, lack of political will to fully implement fisheries laws and regulations, including installation of vessel monitoring devices, lack of postharvest facilities and encroachment of commercial fishers into municipal waters.”
Asis Perez, former director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, also said during the forum that aquaculture is now the biggest producer of fish products. The aquaculture subsector contributed 54.1 percent to total Philippine fisheries production in 2022.
Increases in production were noted in marine municipal fisheries and aquaculture, while commercial and inland municipal fisheries saw production setbacks in 2022.
According to the data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority, the total fisheries production grew to 4.339 million MT (MMT) or by 2.2 percent in 2022, higher from the previous year’s output of 4.248 MMT.