Volume at regional fish ports on a downtrend

Coming from a record high in June, the volume of fish products that arrived at regional fish ports showed a downtrend over the last four months leading to September, no thanks to the recent typhoons that struck the Philippines.

Total fish unloading volume or the volume of fish delivered to various regional ports reached 27,106.31 metric tons (MT) for the reference period, a decline of 43.6 percent from 48,096 MT a month prior, according to the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA).

The figure was likewise lower than the fish unloading volume of 56,032.87 MT in July and the record level of 58,132.09 MT in June.

Amid “the devastation brought by Super Typhoon ‘Karding’ and four other strong typhoons in September 2022,” the PFDA said all fish ports “have guaranteed enough supply of fish for all its clients and stakeholders nationwide.”

Karding alone damaged P3.12 billion of agricultural produce in the regions of Cordillera, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), Bicol and Western Visayas, the Department of Agriculture reported earlier.

The weather disturbances affected the livelihood of some 108,594 farmers and fisherfolk in these areas.

The General Santos Fish Port Complex topped the list with the shipment of 12,371.10 MT to its consumers.

The Navotas Fish Port Complex came second with 10,566.13 MT “despite Karding’s damage to the heavily populated main island of Luzon.”

For its part, the Lucena Fish Port Complex managed to ship 1,091.97 MT of fish products.

Both the Bulan Fish Port Complex and the Sual Fish Port transported 226.45 MT and 381.29 MT of fish, respectively, last month.

Meanwhile, the Iloilo Fish Port Complex unloaded 1,619.66 MT of fish.

Although some fishing vessels were stranded in the southern portion of the country due to Karding, the delivery of the Davao Fish Port Complex and the Zamboanga Fish Port Complex stood at 482.80 MT and 366.91 MT. INQ