Thursday, September 18, 2008 Fish capture in Region 11 down by 12%: fisheries group By Carlo P. Mallo
THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources 11 has reported a 12 percent decrease in the marine fish capture in Southern Mindanao, and blamed this on rising fuel costs and the effects of two super typhoons that ravaged the country earlier this year.
"This is only for the fishes that are captured in the sea," said George Campeon, Bfar 11 director.
High fuel costs and even the two huge typhoons that hit the country early this year are just two of the factors for the decrease in the yields of the marine fish capture.
"There are less fishermen who go out and fish," Campeon said, citing the high cost of fuel.
Campeon added that the over-all performance of the fisheries sector for the first half of the 2008 has been higher compared to the same period last year.
"We experienced an over-all of 3 percent increase compared to January to June 2007," Campeon said.
The BFAR 11 director added that the 3 percent increase in the over-all performance of the fisheries sector includes the increased yield of the aquaculture cages and inland fishponds.
Campeon also said that a number of fisher folk are already shifting to aquaculture cages that have proven to be a more profitable venture.
