Regional fishport volumes up 10.6% in Dec.
FISH volumes landed at regional fish ports rose 10.6% year on year in December to 47,952.79 metric tons (MT), the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) said.
In a statement, the PFDA said the General Santos Fish Port Complex landed 25,005.44 MT of fish during the period, up 2.58% from a year earlier.
It added that the Bulan Fish Port Complex in Sorsogon recorded a 2.59% jump in landed fish at 1,174.00 MT.
The Davao Fish Port Complex landed 1,215.12 MT, up sharply from 310.72 MT a year earlier.
The PFDA said that the Iloilo and Lucena fish ports landed 1,724.49 MT and 1,521.27 MT, respectively, with volumes recovering from the previous month’s decline.
Due to the closed fishing season in Visayan and Northern Palawan waters, the Navotas Fish Port reported a decline in landed fish in December at 16,506.60 MT.
The Zamboanga Fish Port Complex landed 772.975 MT of fish for the month, due to the closed sardine fishing season in the Zamboanga Peninsula, the PFDA reported.
Closed fishing seasons also affected the fish port in Sual, Pangasinan, which landed 32.9 MT of fish for the month.
The closed fishing season occurs annually as a means of replenishing the population of fish, according to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
BFAR announced early last year that sardine fishing was banned between Nov. 15 and Feb. 15. This coincided with the closed fishing in the Visayan Sea for small pelagic fish, including sardines.
Sardine fishing was also banned in northern Palawan between Nov. 1 and Jan. 31, while a closed season for herring and mackerel in the Visayan Sea was declared between Nov. 15 and Feb. 15. —