Regional fish ports bulk up unloading volume by 13.4%

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s regional fish ports (RFPs) registered a 13.42 percent increase in fish unloading volumes in February mainly due to the lifting of the closed fishing season in major fishing grounds, the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) said.

Citing data from its Modified Integrated Corporate Reporting System (MICRS), the PFDA said fish unloading volumes reached 43,568.27 metric tons (MT) in February, higher than the 38,411.45 MT registered in January.

The PFDA attributed the  significant increase to the recent lifting of the closed fishing season for various fish species imposed by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Northern Palawan on Feb. 1, and the Visayan Sea on Feb. 15.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) earlier said the closed fishing season is implemented annually to allow fish stocks to replenish and recover in a bid to ensure the abundance of the supply.

According to the DA, the closed fishing season is implemented at the Davao Gulf from June 1 to Aug. 31; Visayan Sea from Nov. 15 to Feb. 15; Sulu Sea from Dec. 1 to Feb. 28; and in Northeast Palawan from November to January.

The PFDA said the General Santos Fish Port Complex (GSFPC) accounted for the largest unloading volume in February at 19,949.27 MT of fish, an increase of 18.17 percent from the previous month

In addition, two RFPs in Mindanao also showed a substantial increase in their monthly unloading record particularly the Davao Fish Port Complex (DFPC) and Zamboanga Fish Port Complex (ZFPC).

The DFPC registered a 61.81 percent increase with unloading volume of 3,267.22 MT, while the ZFPC recorded an 84.99 percent increase with a total of 844.69 MT unloaded volume.

The Iloilo Fish Port Complex  also showed a growth in numbers after registering 1,598.31 MT, up 11.9 percent from the previous month.

The Bulan Fish Port Complex registered the highest increase at 179.29 percent to 1,546.72 MT.

In contrast, the Navotas Fish Port Complex (NFPC) was able to deliver 14,388.14 MT of fish to its clients and stakeholders.

In 2021, the country’s RFPS unloaded a total of 486,921.34 MT of fish.