FISHERIES production dipped 1.8 percent year-on-year to 886,556 metric tons (MT) in the third quarter (Q3), down from 902,867 MT in the same period last year, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Contractions across wild-catch fisheries dragged down overall output, offsetting gains in the aquaculture sector.
Subsector performance from July to September includes:
Aquaculture (56.2 percent of total output): Climbed 9.5 percent to 498,114 MT from 454,856 MT, anchoring the sector’s overall volume.
Commercial fisheries (20.3 percent of total output): Dropped 20.6 percent to 180,328 MT from 227,102 MT.
Marine municipal fisheries (18.7 percent of total output): Declined 5.4 percent to 165,440 MT from 174,916 MT.
Inland municipal fisheries (4.8 percent of total output): Shrank 7.2 percent to 42,672 MT from 45,992 MT.
Among the 21 major species tracked by the PSA, skipjack (gulyasan) registered the sharpest drop at 42.3 percent, followed by Bali sardinella (tamban), down 26.4 percent, and tilapia, lower by 15.4 percent.
Conversely, seaweed posted growth (12 percent), Indian mackerel (alumahan, 6.4 percent), and milkfish (bangus, 6.1 percent).
