Fisheries output on the wane in last 5 years

MANILA, Philippines — The performance of the country’s fisheries sector has been declining in the last five years due to rising input costs and intensifying effects of climate change, the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department said.

A CPBRD study showed that the gross value added (GVA) for the fishing and aquaculture sector has dropped to P201.7 billion in 2024 from P223.5 billion in 2021. In 2025, the GVA for the sector marginally increased to P206.6 billion, however it remains significantly lower than in 2021.

The report stated that the low performance was due to increasing input costs and climate change causing stronger typhoons and warming seas.

The subsector’s share to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) also stagnated to a low of 0.9 percent in 2025 from 1.2 percent in 2021.

Total fisheries production last year dropped by 1.8 percent to four million metric tons (MT), the lowest since the 4.2 million MT catch in 2021.

Despite the lower output in 2025, the fisheries and aquaculture sector logged a 7.1 percent increase in value to P328.7 billion, “reflecting higher prices for its products.”

Broken down by subsector, aquaculture has logged the highest output in the last five years, with recent data showing that production reached 2.2 million MT in 2025. Output peaked to 2.4 million MT in 2023.

On the other hand, municipal fisheries have been continuously declining to 900,000 MT in 2025 from  1.1 million MT in 2021.

Commercial fishing has been relatively stable from 2021 to 2025, with production seen averaging 900,000 MT per year. 

“These figures suggest that there is no readily discernible driver of growth among the sub-sectors,” the CPBRD said.

The report showed that BARMM with 1.2 million MT was the top producer of fisheries and aquaculture in the country, followed by MIMAROPA at 500,000 MT, Zamboanga Peninsula at 400,000 MT and Central Luzon also with 400,000 MT.

It added that the BARMM’s volume of production was higher compared to other regions due to its massive seaweed aquaculture industry, “a heavy but low-value crop.”

On the other hand Central Luzon logged the highest value of production at P50.3 billion, followed by BARMM at P34.5 billion and Western Visayas with P31.5 billion.