E Visayas posts 19.44% hike in fish production

Tacloban City - Fish production in Eastern Visayas jumped 19.44 percent to 115,418 metric tons (MT) in 2003, from 96,233 MT in 2002.

This was announced by Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Region 8 Director Gil Adora during a meeting of the regional project implementing units (PIU) of the Fisheries Resources Management Project (FRMP) at the Jasmin Resort in Marabut, Western Samar.

Adora said municipal fisheries accounted for the bulk of the production with a total output of 50,962 MT, followed by commercial fisheries with 46,015 MT. Aquaculture contributed 18,441 MT.

As a result of the increase in production, the fish suffficiency index of the region went up from 67 percent in 2002 to 86.06 percent last year. The performance of the industry last year shows that Eastern Visayas has a strong capacity to expand its production level of self-sufficiency or even realize a surplus, Adora said.

Now on its fifth year of implementation, the FRMP is a six-year project aimed at reversing the trend in resources depletion and in alleviating the widespread poverty among marginal fisherfolk. This is done by providing them alternative livelihood.

One such strategy is the establishment of mariculture zones that help balance production with sustainable development of resources. One such effort is the Basey Mariculture Zone project being implemented by DA-BFAR in cooperation with the LGU of Basey, Western Samar.

Another mariculture zone is soon to rise in the municipality of Merida, Southern Leyte along Ormoc Bay.

The mariculture zones are projected for the culture of high value finfishes as well as the popular tilapia and bangus in sea cages. The high value finfishes include ziganids, grouper, sea bass and snappers.

Also proposed for mariculture ventures are lobsters, abalone, mussels, and pearl oysters. As well as sea ranching of seahorses in coral reefs and seagrass areas.