The national government estimates that it will spend at least P2.3 million for three fisheries surveys to monitor the sector’s progress and contribution to the economy.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed that the surveys are the Quarterly Inland Fisheries Survey (QIFS), the Quarterly Municipal Fisheries Survey/Quarterly Commercial Fisheries Survey (QMFS/QCFS), and the Quarterly Aquaculture Survey (QAqS).
The QIFS, which is estimated to cost P2.3 million, intends to collect data from 1,285 inland fishing households in 76 provinces nationwide.
The survey will generate national, regional and provincial-level data on the quarterly volume and value of fish catch by species.
“Inland fishing refers to the catching of aquatic animals and plants in inland waters like lakes, rivers, dams and marshes, using simple gears and fishing boats, some of which are nonmotorized with a capacity not exceeding 3 gross tons. This also includes fishing activities that do not require the use of fishing boats,” the PSA explained.
The QMFS and QCFS aim to collect data from 813 municipal fish landing centers from 67 provinces and 290 commercial landing centers from 57 provinces across the country, respectively.
The QMFS is conducted to monitor the inflow of fish catch at municipal landing centers, while QCFS provides information on the volumes and prices of fish brought into commercial (traditional) landing centers.
“QMFS and QCFS aim to generate statistics on the quantity of fish unloading and price per kilogram of fish unloaded, disaggregated by species. In addition, the QCFS also determines the reasons for high or low volumes of fish unloadings,” the PSA said.
Meanwhile, the QAS, whose cost is also being estimated, aims to generate data from 6,900 aquafarms from 80 provinces nationwide, including Metro Manila.
The QAS aims to generate information on the quarterly production/volume of harvest, area, and price of aquafarm produce at the national, regional and provincial levels.
The PSA said that since 2010, the fisheries sector’s contribution to the economy has been on the decline.
Data showed that the sector contributes 19.6 percent of the total gross value added in agriculture and 1.8 percent in the country’s total gross domestic product.
This is despite the fact that the Philippines ranked seventh among the top fish-producing countries in the world in 2012.
The fisheries sector is composed of three subsectors, such as commercial fisheries, municipal fisheries and aquaculture.
In the first quarter of the, PSA data showed that output of the fisheries subsector declined by 2.57 percent year on year. The subsector accounted for 15.06 percent of total agricultural production during the period.
PSA said the major contributors to the poor performance of the subsector were round scad and skipjack with production losses of 19.45 percent and 7.03 percent, respectively.
The fisheries subsector’s gross output was valued at P54.9 billion or 5.04 percent lower than last year’s earnings.