The Philippine Statistics Authority in the Caraga Region (PSA-13) reported a 7.6 percent drop in fisheries production in the area last year.
The report was based on the Fisheries Production Survey (FPS) by the PSA-13 for 2021.
It said the region’s fisheries production last year was recorded at 61,561 metric tons, which is lower by 5,040 metric tons compared to the 2020 production of 66,601 metric tons.
“The region’s decrease in production was mainly attributed to the output reduction of the municipal fisheries subsector by 8.4 percent,” PSA-13 said.
The production of Bali Sardinella, locally known as Tamban, dropped by 11.6 percent last year, or 4,070.6 metric tons compared to the 9,116.9 metric tons production in 2020.
A decline was also reported in yellowfin tuna production in the region by 9.2 percent, from 3,915.2 metric tons in 2020 to 3,554.4 metric tons in 2021.
It added that the aquaculture subsector in Caraga also suffered a 7.8 percent decrease in production last year, from 14,945.0 metric tons in 2020 to 13,783.7 metric tons in 2021.
“The commercial subsector in the region also declined by 3.3 percent from 8,790.5 metric tons in 2020 to 8,496.9 metric tons in 2021,” the agency said.
Gains in fisheries production
Of the species produced in the region, the report showed that seaweed production showed the highest gain last year with 6,862 metric tons of production, and accounted for 11 percent of the total fisheries production in the area.
Surigao del Sur posted the highest fisheries production in Caraga last year with 25,644 metric tons, followed by Surigao del Norte with 19,750 metric tons.
Agusan del Norte also contributed 11,268 metric tons of fisheries production last year, the Dinagat Islands with 4,137 metric tons, and Agusan del Sur with 760 metric tons.
Source: Philippines News Agency
