Fisheries Situation Report, January to December 2018

February 2019

Fisheries

In 2018, the total volume of fisheries production was estimated at 4.35 million metric tons, which was 0.92 percent higher than its previous year’s level of 4.31 million metric tons. Of the three subsectors, only aquaculture posted positive growth rate of 2.98 percent in 2018.

Compared with 2017, the major species that showed improvements in production were seaweed (4.45%), skipjack (4.33%) and tilapia (3.25%). However, lesser produce of milkfish (3.90%), roundscad (8.15%), yellowfin tuna (11.91%) and tiger prawn (2.76%) were reported during the period.

Commercial

The volume of production from commercial fisheries was posted at 941.59 thousand metric tons, which went down by 0.71 percent compared with its level a year ago of 948.28 thousand metric tons. The subsector comprised 21.64 percent of the total fisheries output.

Municipal

Production from municipal fisheries was estimated at 1.11 million metric tons during the year. It registered a decline of 1.78 percent from previous year’s production of 1.13 million metric tons. The subsector was composed of 85.15 percent marine municipal fisheries while the rest came from inland fisheries. Municipal fisheries contributed 25.41 percent to total fisheries.

Aquaculture

Aquaculture harvests accumulated 2.30 million metric tons during the period. It posted a 2.98 percent gain from its record a year ago of 2.24 million metric tons. The bulk of total fisheries output came from aquaculture with 52.95 percent share.