Fish unloading in regional ports expanded in February

MANILA, Philippines —Regional fish ports’ catch improved in February as the government lifted a temporary fishing ban on major grounds, the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) said.

The PFDA said fish unloading volume totaled 40,700.05 metric tons (MT) last month, rising by 24.48 percent from 32,694.01 MT in the same period last year.

It also saw an increase of 4.95 percent from the 38,780.63 MT of catch that reached regional fish ports in January.

READ: Nationwide fish harvest up nearly 6% in December

“[February’s] increase can be attributed to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource (BFAR)’s lifting of the three-month ban on harvesting fish in Northern Palawan, Visayan Sea and Zamboanga Peninsula,” the PFDA said.

Closed fishing season

Commercial fishers are prohibited from casting their fishing nets for three months in major fishing grounds in a year to conserve various marine species and address overfishing and climate change concerns.

Closed fishing season is implemented in the Visayan Sea and Zamboanga from Nov. 15 to Feb. 15 while in Northeast Palawan, the fishing ban takes effect from Nov. 1 to Jan. 1.

READ: 3-month fishing ban in Visayan Sea starts

The General Santos Fish Port Complex is the leading contributor among regional fish ports, delivering 23,285.97 MT of fish to clients during the period, an increment of 40.66 percent from a year ago.

The Navotas Fish Port Complex was next as it unloaded 11,996.62 MT, up by 3.59 percent.

The Iloilo Fish Port Complex showed the most significant improvement among regional ports after shipping 2,179.59 MT, up 48.64 percent.

The government is targeting a 100-percent fish self-sufficiency by 2028, or the tail end of the Marcos administration’s term.