Due to unfavorable weather conditions brought about by recent typhoons that hit the region, fisheries sectors’ target production in Central Visayas has dropped by 4.4 percent on the first six months of this year.
In an interview with Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Region 7 director Andres M. Bojos, he revealed that the region’s fisheries failed to meet its target for the first half due to several factors but he stressed that the drop in the targeted production is insignificant as supply was able to meet the demand.
Bojos explained that the three subsector of fisheries which include aquaculture, commercial and municipal has experienced slowdown taking into consideration the country’s economic situation and some natural disasters.
He said that commercial fisheries have been greatly affected by the previous increases in fuel prices as agricultural products have been.
The limited water boundaries that is allowed for commercial fishing has also affected the production of commercial fishermen, said Bojos because there is a limited space for them to fish.
But the unfavorable weather condition was the main reason for the decline in fisheries production because it hit most parts of the region where there is a concentration of fisheries production.
Last year, the region was able to produce 226, 175 metric tons (MT) of fisheries, an 11.73 percent increase from the previous year.
This year, BFAR targets to produce 231, 845 MT of fisheries for Central Visayas.
For the commercial sub sector, BFAR targets to produce 53, 6161 MT while they target to produce 51, 819 MT for municipal fisheries and 126, 410 MT for aquaculture production this year.
As for the first quarter this year, BFAR’s Central Visayas target, actual and forecast production report noted that the sector was able to generate an actual production of 60, 213.66 MT of fisheries from that of the targeted 66, 473.88 MT.
While for the second quarter they were able to produce 61, 415 MT of fisheries from that of the 82, 153 MT targeted production.
Bojos said that even if the sector was unable to meet the targeted production for the first half this year, they are still optimistic to do better on the second semester.
So, for the third quarter this year, BFAR forecasts to achieve production of 52, 861.91 MT while for the fourth quarter they forecast to generate a 57, 354.43 MT of fisheries production in Central Visayas.
Bojos said that tilapia production and other inland productions has not much been it by typhoons so there is no decrease in production.
He also noted a favorable increase of production in seaweeds, which is one of the major exports of the region.
He said that this increase may mean that more seaweed farmers may benefit from the increase in demand of the world market.
“Despite the slippage in production for the first six months this year, we see a much better production in the second semester considering the increasing prices of our exported fisheries and the various interventions that we are undergoing,” stressed Bojos. – Rhia de Pablo