Capiz yields 12T MT fishery products
ROXAS CITY -- Capiz was able to produce more than 12,000 metric tons of fishery products in the second quarter of this year.
Capiz Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) provincial head Eric Piansay disclosed that the commercial fishery production of the province from May to June period was recorded at 7,899.3 metric tons.
For the municipal fisheries production, Capiz was able to record some 4,393.48 metric tons during the second quarter of the current year, Piansay revealed.
However, the fisheries production during said period slightly decreased due to typhoon "Frank" that hardly devastated Capiz in the last month of said quarter, he said.
On the other hand, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) report to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap shows that the fisheries production in the Philippines actually went up in the second quarter of 2008.
The increase in said production this year compared to the same period last year is a result in part of the series of interventions carried out by the Arroyo government to sustain the expansion of this primary growth driver in the agriculture sector.
Noted as government initiatives are the dispersal of tilapia and carp fingerlings in rivers, lakes and other communal bodies of water; distribution of water-based planting materials; rehabilitation of fish farms; and assistance to fish growers on proper farm management and other forms of technical assistance to boost productivity.
BFAR Director Malcolm Sarmiento Jr. revealed that the municipal fisheries and aquaculture recorded output gains during the April-June period, expanding 3.98% and 2.63%, respectively.
He said that the municipal fisheries, which contributed about 31.48 % to the total fisheries yield, produced 15,027 metric tons (MT) more this year compared to the same quarter last year.
The production in marine municipal fisheries went up by 3.34 % or 11,381 MT while yields in inland municipal fisheries went up by 9.69 % or 3,646 metric tons, he said.
Sarmiento cited the prevailing weather conditions during the quarter have enabled municipal fishermen to increase their fishing activities.
He added that the dispersal of tilapia and carp fingerlings in rivers, lakes and other communal bodies of water by the BFAR contributed to the growth of inland municipal fishery.
Aquaculture production, which made up 41.35% of total fisheries yields, increased by 13,206 MT during the second quarter compared to the same period last year, he said, adding that about 64.44% of the total production were seaweeds and 35.56 % were finfishes and shellfishes.
The commercial fisheries, on the other hand, experienced a 2.73 % decline in output owing to high fuel prices, which led to a decline in fishing activities, and weather disturbances like strong winds and typhoons, Sarmiento said. (PIA)