Aklan fisheries production declines in 2016

BY PETER S. MANGILOG / PSA AKLAN

Aklan’s total volume of fisheries production in 2016 declined by 1.90 percent due to the decrease in output across all sub-sectors and species, a report of the Philippine Statistics Authority-Aklan showed.

Data showed that the total fisheries production in the province reached 22,694.31 metric tons last year, or a decrease of 440.19 metric tons compared to 23,134.5 metric tons in 2015.

The decline of commercial fisheries production resulted from the five percent (from 1,030 MT in 2015 to 971 MT in 2016), and municipal fisheries subsectors with 6 percent (from 9,737.33 MT in 2015 to 9, 236.79 metric tons in 2016). 

Aquaculture, however, slightly up by one percent in 2015 output (12,367.56 in 2015 output to 12,486.34 metric tons in 2016).

Of the three fishery subsectors, aquaculture shared the largest production accounting for 55.02 percent of the total output, followed by municipal subsector with 40.70 percent, and commercial with 4.28 percent.

The decline in commercial and marine fishery production was attributed to lesser fishing operations due to rough seas and strong winds brought by northeast monsoon conditions, low volume of catch in swamps, creeks, estuaries and rivers and the shift of some fishermen to other job such as construction work.

Among the dominant fishes caught in commercial and marine municipal fishing consist of roundscad or galunggong (883 MT), indo-pacific mackerel or hasa-hasa (86 MT), frigate tuna or tulingan (82 MT), big-eyed scad or matangbaka (527 MT), skipjack or gulyasan (61 MT), slipmouth or sapsap (546 MT), anchovies or dilis(501 MT), and indian sardines or tamban (498 MT).

Meanwhile, the dominant speciesproduce in inland fishing comprised endeavor prawn or suahe (84.11 MT), freshwater goby or biya (66 MT), other mollusks (62 MT), tilapia (36 MT), freshwater shrimp or hipon (19 MT), and lobster or ulang (19 MT). 

On the other hand, Aklan’s aquaculture production in 2016 slightly inched up by 119 metric tons from 12,368 in 2015 output to 12,486 metric tons in 2016.

Of the type of aquafarms, brackish water fishpond has the highest production estimated at 11,679 MT sharing about 93.53 percent of the total output.

This is followed by oyster with 638 MT, mussel with 105 MT, brackish water pen with 31 MT, freshwater fishpond with 27 MT, brackish water cage with 4 MT, and seaweeds with 3 MT.