Reports gathered by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) in the region show that all the three sectors of fish production registered positive growths during the quarter.
Aquaculture which accounted 42 per cent of the total fish production went up by eight per cent reaching 19,136.45 metric tons while commercial and municipal fishing also increased to 13,994.37 and 11,979.68 metric tons, respectively.
Engineer Cecilio Clarete, chied economic development specialist of NEDA-10, said the large quantities of alumahan, hasahasa, galunggong and brown squid unloaded in the fish ports of Misamis Oriental contributed to the growth of the commercial fishing.
Good weather condition that encouraged more fishing trips in Lanao del Norte and Misamis Occidental also supported the growth in municipal fishing in addition to the abundance of in-season species during the quarter.
The shallowing of fishing grounds along the National Power Corporation dam which resulted to more catch for inland fisherfolk in Bukidnon was also one of the factors that contributed to the good performance of the fishery sector in the region.
Further, more vessels have unloaded their catch in Linamon and Kolambugan in Lanao del Norte and Iligan City.
Brackishwater fishpond, meanwhile, grew by almost 38 per cent reaching 6,396.58 metric tons due to the additional area harvested of bangus in the municipality Bonifacio.
Other contributors to the production growth during the quarter were the increased stocking rate, intensive use of commercial feeds and imporved yield of mudcab.
Brackishwater fishpond was the second largest contributor to the region’s aquaculture production. The biggest contributor during the quarter was seaweeds production.
However, seaweeds production went down by two per cent due to poor maintenance in production areas damaged by heavy rains.
Some alvarezii growers in Lanao del Norte also decided to temporarily cease their production activities due to financial constraints.
