THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported a slight increase in the production of the fisheries sector in 2018 at 0.92 percent.
Data from PSA showed that the production of the fisheries sector in the country increased by 0.92 percent in 2018 to 4.35 million metric tons from 4.31 million metric tons in 2017.
Of the three subsectors of fisheries, there was a drop in the production in commercial and municipal fisheries while there was an increase in aquaculture.
Municipal fisheries' volume of production dropped by 1.78 percent to 1.11 million metric tons from 1.13 million metric tons. The sector contributes 25.41 percent in the total production of the fisheries sector.
The statistics agency reported that the volume of production of the commercial fisheries subsector dropped by 0.71 percent to 941.59 thousand metric tons from 948.28 thousand metric tons. The subsector has a 21.64 share in the total output of the fisheries sector.
Aquaculture, which contributes to more than half of the fisheries production, grew by 2.98 percent in 2018 to 2.30 million metric tons from 2.24 million metric tons in 2017.
The agency also reported that there was an increase in the production of seaweed, skipjack tuna, and tilapia. However, production for milkfish (bangus), roundscad (galunggong), yellowfin tuna, and tiger prawn decreased.