Second quarter fishery production in Eastern Visayas up by 12.1%

By PSA-8
September 27, 2019

TACLOBAN CITY – The fishing industry in Eastern Visayas expanded as the region’s total fishery production went up to 30,408 metric tons (MT) during the second quarter in 2019 from 27,124 MT in the same quarter in 2018, posting an increase by 12.1 percent.

In the second quarter of 2019, Eastern Visayas ranked fifth among the regions with low fishery production in the country with 2.7 percent contribution to the country’s total fishery production.

Among provinces, Samar recorded the highest volume of fishery production at 9,376 MT, comprising 30.8 percent of the total fishery production in the region. Leyte ranked second at 6,442 MT, accounting for 21.2 percent of the region’s total fish production. Southern Leyte, meanwhile, had the lowest volume of production at 1,659 MT, which only comprised 5.5 percent of the total fishery production.

Volume of production in commercial fishing went up by 49.2 percent, from 2,833 MT in the second quarter of 2018 to 4,227 MT in the same quarter of 2019. All provinces registered increases in commercial fishing, except Southern Leyte and Leyte posting a decline of 52.0 percent and 15.4 percent, respectively. Samar, meanwhile, registered the highest volume of production in the second quarter of 2019 at 1,941 MT, accounting for 45.9 percent of the total commercial fishery production in the region.

Samar island dominated (Eastern Samar, Samar and Northern Samar) the municipal fishery (both marine and inland fishing) production in Eastern Visayas with 76.4 percent combined share to the total municipal fishery (both marine and inland fishing) production in Eastern Visayas during the second quarter of 2019. Biliran, meanwhile, registered the lowest contribution with 6.3 percent share or 1,214 MT during the second quarter of 2019.

The region’s total volume of production in municipal fishing (both marine and inland fishing) registered an increase by 6.2 percent, from 18,238 MT in the second quarter of 2018 to 19,373 MT in the same quarter of 2019. All provinces registered increases in municipal fishing, except Samar, which recorded a slight decline of 1.2 percent. Northern Samar recorded the highest increase by 16.4 percent, from 3,397 MT in the second quarter of 2018 to 3,954 MT during the second quarter of 2019.

Volume of production in aquaculture recorded an increase by 12.5 percent, from 6,052 MT in the second quarter of 2018 to 6,808 MT in the same period of 2019. All provinces registered increases in aquaculture, except Samar and Northern Samar which recorded a decline in production by 19.4 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively.

Among provinces, Leyte topped the production of aquaculture at 4,358 MT, comprising 64.0 percent of the total aquaculture production in the region. Samar ranked second at 2,038 MT, accounting to 29.9 percent share of the region’s total aquaculture production. Biliran, meanwhile, registered the lowest contribution with 0.2 percent share or 11 MT during the second quarter of 2019.

More than three fifths or 63.7 percent (19,373 MT) of the total fishery production in the region constituted municipal fishing. Aquaculture contributed 22.4 percent (6,808 MT), while commercial fishing accounted for 13.9 percent (4,227 MT).