Fisheries output in the third quarter fell slightly to 972,910.73 metric tons, from 973,269.43 MT recorded last year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
In its quarterly fisheries situation report, the PSA attributed the decline to the drop in the production of the commercial and municipal fisheries subsector. The PSA said in a separate report that bad weather hampered fishing operations in the July-to-September period.
Bad weather and fish kill in Central Luzon disrupted restocking in some regions, the PSA added.
“Commercial fisheries volume of production was recorded at 232, 810 MT, which was 1.60 percent lower than the previous year’s level. The subsector contributed 23.93 percent of the total fisheries output,” the report read.
“During the period, municipal fisheries production diminished by 2.67 percent. The subsector came out with 273,240 MT,” it added. Municipal fisheries output in the third quarter of 2017 reached 280,739 MT.
Of the total output, 84.37 percent were caught in marine municipal waters while the remaining volume came from inland fisheries, according to the PSA.
Marine municipal fisheries output declined by 3.13 percent to 230,528.83 MT from 237,989.79 MT last year. Likewise, inland fisheries production fell slightly to 42,711.05 MT from 42,749.21 MT.
However, the PSA report noted that the production of the country’s aquaculture subsector expanded by 2.4 percent to 466,861.56 MT, from 455,934.41 MT last year.
“The subsector had the biggest share of 47.99 percent to total fisheries,” it said.
In its report on the performance of Philippine agriculture, the PSA noted that the fisheries subsector accounted for 17.08 percent of total agricultural output.
“At current prices, the gross earnings of the subsector at P64.1 billion was higher by 12.22 percent, from the previous year’s level.
“From January to September 2018, the subsector posted a 2.21 percent drop in production,” the report read.