Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said skipjack tuna production continued on its uptrend and went up by 15.88 per cent during the period.
More deliveries of frozen tuna for canneries were reported in the landing centers in General Santos City.
“In Calabarzon, the increased appearance of schools of fish was due to abundance of small species that served as feeds to large species like skipjack,” Mr Alcala said.
Production of yellowfin tuna was 6.67 per cent higher this year. Increased fishing efforts due to sustained demand from canneries were cited in General Santos City.
Tiger prawn yield has recovered from the previous year’s slump and has increased by 2.16 per cent.
The Secretary said, this was due to the availability of stocking materials and adequate supply of commercial feeds in Mindoro Oriental.
The expansion of tiger prawn operators in Palawan and lesser mortality rate due to minimal incidence of luminous bacteria in Lanao del Norte also helped, he added.
Fisheries accounted for 19.78 per cent of the total agricultural production, which still managed to grow by 0.04 per cent despite El Niño and the successive turbulent typhoons that battered the country.
Seaweed production grew by 1.22 per cent. In the provinces of Palawan, Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Sur and Sulu, the availability of planting materials under the BFAR assistance programe ncouraged more operators to plant.
The prevailing good weather conditions and less occurrence of ice-ice disease favored seaweed production in Zamboanga Sibugay and Tawi-tawi.
Production of “other species” in the fisheries subsector went up by 0.83 per cent. Gains in production of Indian sardines, Indian mackerel, big-eyed scad, Eastern little tuna and threadfin bream were manifested by increased appearances of these species due to favorable weather conditions.
Tilapia production moved up by 0.85 per cent. Bigger sizes of tilapia were caught in Lake Lanao and Liguasan Marsh while aquaculture operators were encouraged to produce more fish in pens and cages in Buluan Lake because of higher demand.
In Rizal, more natural foods were available due to movement of water caused by frequent rains and this enhanced the taste and growth of tilapia from both pens and cages.
An increase in stocking rate, attributed to Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) assistance, was noted in Pampanga. Availability of good quality fingerlings and good culture management resulted in lesser mortality rate in Tarlac.
Milkfish production went up by 0.80 per cent. The availability of good quality fingerlings led to increases in area harvested in Davao del Sur.
Favorable weather conditions and lesser seepage of chemicals from nearby palay farms boosted milkfish output from brackishwater fishponds in Northern Mindanao.
BFAR distributed more quality fingerlings in Lanao del Norte. Increased stocking rate for marine cages was reported in Misamis Oriental.
Roundscad production dropped by 4.47 per cent. The decrease in unloading in Navotas Fish Port was caused by the banning of unloading of commercial fishing vessels using Danish seine fishing gear.
The occurrence of low pressure areas, gale warnings and frequent rains during the third quarter prevented fishermen in Masbate and Camarines provinces from fishing in municipal waters.
