Fisheries output seen rebounding due to infra, supply chain upgrades
By Adrian H. Halili, Reporter
FISHERIES production is expected to rebound this year on the back of enhancements to supporting infrastructure and an initiative to develop agro-industrial estates focused on fisheries products, analysts said.
“This value chain approach is likely to increase production at all levels,” Asis G. Perez, convenor of advocacy group Tugon Kabuhayan, said in a phone call.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has said that it was planning to invest in more infrastructure to support the agri-fisheries sector.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. also sought to expand the functions of the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority to develop and manage marine-agro-industrial estates.
However, Philippine Association of Fish Producers, Inc. Chairman David B. Villaluz said that the aquaculture subsector will continue to face challenging conditions due to the increasing price of fish feed.
“Hangga’t hindi bumababa ang presyo ng feeds (until fish feed prices fall)…production will be significantly impacted,” Mr. Villaluz said by telephone.
He added that fish producers may reduce their use of feed by 50%, ultimately affecting output levels.
“If we are only using natural food in fish ponds, production may drop to 600 to 750 kilograms per hectare annually. But if we use (commercially produced) fish feed, production would be 2 to 2.5 metric tons per hectare a year,” he added.
In 2023, fisheries production dropped 6.5%, accelerating the 5% decline recorded in the prior year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Mr. Perez said that the DA’s plan to revive aquaculture in Laguna de Bay will improve output.
Laguna de Bay currently produces about 90,000 metric tons (MT) of freshwater fish annually and provides livelihoods to 13,000 fisherfolk, according to the Laguna Lake Development Authority.
“That can be an increased by over 30,000 MT a year… in bangus (milkfish) and tilapia production. When the previous administration froze Laguna de Bay new fish cultivation operations, we lost about 45,000 MT of production from the lake alone,” he said.
“The new initiative to build up output from Laguna de Bay will have a tremendous impact on production… 5% increase kaagad ’yan (output will immediately rise 5%),” he added.
Mr. Villaluz said the government should focus on fisheries research and developing low-cost feed.
