Module 1

Overview of Philippine Fisheries

I. Learning Objectives

After studying this lesson, the student should be able to:

1. Enumerate and describe the major divisions and sectors of fisheries;

2. Compare and analyse contribution of each sector of Philippine
Fisheries; and
3. Determine the issues and problems presently encountered by the
Philippine Fisheries.

II. Introduction

The Philippines is an archipelagic country located in the region of

Southeast Asia and composed of more 7,000 islands. With its extensive territorial
waters ranging from inland and to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of more
than 2 million square kilometers, the country is endowed with rich and vast
aquatic resources of which the Filipino populace will enjoy to exploit. These
resources serve as the economic backbone of many coastal communities in the
Philippines. The country is one of the consistent top producing countries
worldwide. In 2012, the production constitutes 2.66% of the total world production
of 182.9 million metric tons. This lesson will introduce to the country’s fisheries
resources, its status and issues.

III. Learning Contents

Fisheries

 Refers to all activities relating to the act or business of fishing, culturing,

preserving, processing, marketing, developing, conserving and managing
aquatic resources and the fishery area including the privilege to fish or
take aquatic resources thereof (RA 8550)

Fisheries as Scientific Field

 The scientific study of the use of the living resources of waters….Part.. is

concerned with the biological, physical and chemical aspects of the
process of organic production; part, with the distribution of the resources;
part, with the effect of fishing. (Royce, 1972)
  The application of scientific knowledge concerning fish populations to the
problems of obtaining the optimum production of fishery products, whether
stated in tons of factory material or in hours of angling pressure. (Everhart
et al., 1975)

Major Divisions of Fisheries

1. Aquatic Resources and Ecology – deals with water and its multiple roles
as a natural resource and in supporting all human, animal and plant life
and the functional relationship between the biotic and abiotic components
of the aquatic environment.

2. Capture fisheries - refer to all kinds of harvesting of naturally occurring

living resources in both marine and freshwater environments.

3. Aquaculture - farming of aquatic organisms under controlled or semi-

controlled conditions in fresh, brackish and salt water.

4. Post-harvest - includes the different processes and techniques employed

in post-harvest handling, processing and marketing of aquatic products
from the time of harvesting to final utilization.

Sectors of Philippine Fisheries

1. Municipal Fisheries- refers to fishing within municipal waters using

fishing vessels of three (3) gross tons or less, or fishing not requiring the
use of fishing vessels. Municipal waters extend 15 kms from the coastline.

2. Commercial Fisheries- refers to fishing beyond the municipal waters

using fishing vessels more than three gross tons.

a. Small Scale Commercial Fishing - Fishing with passive or active

gear utilizing fishing vessels of 3.1 GT up to 20 GT.
b. Medium Scale Commercial Fishing - Fishing utilizing active gears
and vessel of 20.1 GT up to 150 GT.
c. Large Scale Commercial Fishing - Fishing utilizing active gears
of more than 150 GT.

Fishery Resources

A. Aquatic Biodiversity in the Philippines

 The Philippines is an archipelagic country or a maritime nation with 7,107

islands.
 The Philippine waters include all bodies of water within the Philippine
territory such as lakes, rivers, streams, creeks, brooks, ponds, swamps,
 lagoons, gulfs, bays and seas and other bodies of water now existing or
which hereafter exist in the provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays
and the waters around, between and connecting the islands of the
archipelago regardless of their breadth and dimensions, the territorial sea,
the sea beds, the insular shelves, and all other waters over which the
Philippines has sovereignty and jurisdiction including the 200-mile nautical
miles Exclusive Economic Zone and the continental shelf.
 Some Facts:
 832 municipalities out of 1,541 or 54 percent are coastal
 Almost all major cities are coastal (ex. Manila, Cebu, and Davao)
 62% of the population lives in the coastal zone
 More than 50% of the animal protein intake in the Philippines is
derived from marine fisheries

Coral Reef Resources:

 The country has a total of 18,000 km coastline and about 27,000 sq. km.
of coral reef fringing its shore or in offshore areas in the form of
submerged reefs or coral atolls.
 Area equal to slightly more than 10% of the total land area of the country.
 Most reef areas were adversely affected by human activities and less than
5% (as measured by coral cover) are considered to be in excellent
condition
 The Philippines harbors 468 scleractinian corals or hard corals which
are hermatypic in nature.
 About 62% of all central Indo-Pacific coral species are common to the
region, with 13% (about 70 species) restricted to ranges within the
continental coastline. Only 12 species are endemic to the Philippines.
 Reef associated fauna include more than 2,000 reef fishes, 5,000
species of mollusks, and 981 species of bottom-living algae.

Seagrass Resources:
 The Philippines has 19 species of seagrass, second highest seagrass
diversity next to Australia which recorded more than half of the total
seagrass species in the world.
 A total of 1,384 individuals and 55 species from 25 fish families have been
identified from five seagrass sites in the Philippines alone
 Seagrass beds in the country support at least 172 species of fish, 46
species of invertebrate, 51 species of seaweeds, 45 species of algal
epiphytes, 1 sea turtle and 1 species of dugong.
 An estimated 30 to 50 percent of the seagrass habitat in the Philippines
has been lost to heavy siltation and coastal development.
 One species that maybe considered endangered, if not completely lost, is
Halophila becarii.
 Philippine seagrass communities current issues and challenges:
- Encroachment - dredging, filling and fishpond development have
destroyed seagrass beds
- Sedimentation - smothered many sea grass beds
- Waterborne pollutants - herbicides, detergents and heavy metals
result in tissue damage to seagrass; coastal eutrophication dues to
excessive fertilizer or sewage runoff or excessive feeds from
mariculture areas resulting in algal blooms that deplete oxygen and
limit seagrass survival
- Destruction of fringing vegetation including mangroves and coral
areas due to blast fishing, dredging and other activities also affect
seagrass health

Mangrove Resources:
 There were 54 species of true mangroves (34 major and 20 minor)
worldwide (and 60 species of mangrove associates) of which the
Philippines has around 40 species belonging to 14 families.
 More than 35 species of mangroves occur in the Philippines covering
about 138,000 ha.
 Among the mangrove sites with high diversity are: (1) The island-province
of Bohol with 26 mangrove species; (2) Pagbilao Bay in Quezon province
with 24 species; (3) Aurora province with 23 species; (4) Ibajay in Aklan
province with 22 species; and (5) Puerto Galera, Mindoro and San
Remegio, Cebu with 18 species each.
 The Philippine capital was named after a mangrove tree called “nilad”
which are very abundant in the Pasig River Delta in the past.
 In 1918, some 450,000 ha of mangroves existed in the Philippines but has
declined to a little over 120,000 ha in 1994.

Fishes and other resources:

 Fishbase records indicate that the country harbors about 3,212 fish
species (list still incomplete), 731 of which are considered commercially
important.
 The smallest commercial fish (Mistychthys luzonensis) and the largest fish
(Rhincodon typus) in the world can be found in the Philippines.
 The IUCN listed at least 566 endangered species in the Philippines,84 of
which are listed as “critically endangered” .
  The Mindoro crocodile (Crocodillus mindorensis) or commonly known as
the Philippine crocodile is found only in the country.

 Factors Influencing Biodiversity:

 A warm climate and stable water temperatures (rarely below 18°C)
 Abundant sunlight to fuel the photosynthesis process that supports
the growth of algae, coral, and other organisms
 Relatively low sediment loads, allowing light to pass deep into the
water
 Generally low freshwater inputs that maintain a salinity level
between 30 and 36 parts per thousand
 Currents, clean water and hard substrates that provide optimal
conditions for corals and other aquatic life to thrive

Contributions of Fisheries to Philippine Economy

World Scenario:
 In 2013, the Philippines ranked 7th among the top fish producing countries
in the world with its total production of 4.87 million metric tons of fish,
crustaceans, mollusks, and aquatic plants (including seaweeds). The
production constitutes 2.46% of the total world production of 191 million
metric tons.

 The Philippines’ 0.815 million metric tons aquaculture production of fish,

crustaceans and mollusks in 2013 ranked 11th in the world and a 1.16%
share to the total global aquaculture production of 70.2 million metric tons.
In terms of value, the country’s aquaculture production of fish, crustaceans
and mollusks has amounted to over 1.98 billion dollars.

 Similarly, the Philippines is the world’s 3rd largest producer of aquatic

plants (including seaweeds) having produced a total of 1.56 million metric
tons or nearly 5.78% of the total world production of 26.98 million metric
tons.

Contribution to the National Economy:

 The fishing industry’s contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic
Products (GDP) were 1.6 % and 1.8% at current and constant 2000
prices, respectively. This translates to some P197 billion for current prices
and P130 billion for constant prices of the country’s GDP of P12, 643
billion (current prices) and P7, 164 billion (constant prices).

 The industry also accounted for 13.8% (P197 billion) and 18.3% (P131
billion) of the Gross Value Added (GVA) in Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry
 and Fishing Group of P1,428 billion and P717.8 billion at current and
constant prices, respectively, the largest share next to agricultural crops.

Contribution to Employment:
 The industry employed a total of 1,614,368 fishing operators nationwide
(NSO 2002 Census for Fisheries) of which the municipal fisheries sector
accounted for more than one million (1,371,676) operators while the
commercial and aquaculture sectors added some 16,497 and 226,195
operators, respectively.

Performance of the Fishing Industry:

 Total volume of fisheries production in the Philippines from January to
December 2014 reached 4,689,084 metric tons. Fisheries production drop
down by (5.6%) from 5 million metric tons in CY 2009 to 4.7 million metric
tons in CY 2013. Average annual production growth rate within that period
was registered at (0.9%). In terms of value, the 2014 fisheries production
was valued at 242 billion pesos as compared with the 221.1 billion pesos
in 2010, an average yearly increment of 1.9 billion pesos.

 The 2014 fisheries production also showed a slight decrease of 0.35%

from the previous year’s production of 4.7 million metric tons. The 2014
production was valued at 242 billion pesos.

 The annual performance of the fishing industry was attributed to the

production of the three (3) sectors. The commercial sector has an
increased production of 3.7 % (1.11 million MT) as compared to last year’s
production of 1.07 million MT while the aquaculture sector is 1.51% (2.34
million MT) lower than the previous year’s level (2.37 million MT) followed
by the municipal sector with –1.59 % (1.24 million MT).

 At the regional level, the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao

(ARMM) registered the highest production among all regions with its
18.3% or 856,957 metric tons share to the total fisheries production,
where seaweed was the major commodity produced followed by Region
IX with a 12.2% share or 574,363 metric tons. Region IV-B (MIMAROPA)
recorded an output of 562,057 metric tons or 12% to the total fisheries
production.

 In terms of value, the industry has contributed P242 billion in 2014 as

compared to P244.6 billion in 2013. The top three (3) regions were Region
III with P30.91 billion, followed by Region VI with P28.47 billion and
Region XII with P25 billion.

 The Aquaculture fisheries sub-sector contributed the highest value of

about P 93.95 billion or 39 %. Next is municipal fisheries sub-sector with a
total production of P 81.8 billion. Total fish caught by marine fishermen
 was valued at P71.9 billion while inland fisheries production was valued at
P9.88 billion. The commercial sub-sector contributed P66.2 billion or 27%
to the total fishery output.

Fisheries Exports and Imports:

 Foreign trade performance of the fishery industry in 2014 registered a net
surplus of 954 million dollars - total export value of 1,274 million US
dollars and import value of 320 million US dollars.

 Export volume decreased by 5% from 333,465 MT in 2013 to 316,863 MT

in 2014. The three major export commodities (tuna, seaweeds,
shrimp/prawn,) combined for 53% (169,295 MT) of the total export volume
(316,863 MT) and 65% (US$ 827,484 million) of the total export value
US$ 1,274 million in 2014.

 Tuna remained as the top export commodity with a collective volume of

117,909 MT for fresh/chilled/frozen, smoked/dried, and canned tuna
products valued at US $ 443million. Canned tuna, though, constitutes bulk
of tuna products being exported. In general, tuna export is down by 29% in
terms of volume and lower in terms of value, (35) % than the previous
year. Major markets for this commodity include USA, Japan and United
Kingdom.

 Seaweeds ranked 2nd on export value with 20% increase from US$ 218.7
million in 2013 to US$ 264 million in 2014 or 21% share to the total export
earnings for that year. Carrageenan remains the major product being
shipped abroad comprising 80% of the total seaweed export value in
pesos. USA, China and Belgium are among the major markets for
Philippine seaweed products.

 Shrimp/Prawn ranked 3rd with a total contribution of US$ 120 million to

the total export value, higher than last years’ export earnings of US$ 67.5
million. Most of the shrimps/prawns are exported in fresh/chilled/frozen
form with a total value of US$ 67 million or 56% of the total shrimp/prawn
export revenue. The 2014 shrimp/prawn exports decreased by 6.75% in
volume (MT) but higher in value of 78% USD from the previous year’s
export. Japan, USA and France are among the major destination of
shrimp/prawn products.

 Other major fishery exports e.g. crabs/crab fats, octopus, lapu-lapu,

cuttlefish/squid, ornamental fish, roundscad and sea cucumber constitute
34.5% or US$ 440 million of the total US$ 1,268 million export revenues.
Other commodities accounted for the remaining 16% of the total export
value/earnings.
  Among the major destination of Philippine fish and fishery product exports
(in terms of value) with percentage share are USA, 25%; Japan, 15.5%;
Germany , 6%; Hongkong 7%; UK, 4.3%; Spain, 2.5% ; France, 1.1%, ,
Taiwan (ROC) 3.5%, Canada, 1%, and China, Rep Of 6.3%; . Other
countries have a cumulative share of 27%.

 Fifty two percent of the total import value for 2014 was contributed by
three major commodities: 46% in chilled/frozen fish, 1.6 % in prawn feeds,
; as well as flour, meals and pellets of fish, crustaceans, and mollusks fit
and unfit for human consumption, 4.7%. These commodities have an
aggregated value of US$ 167 million out of the US$ 320 million total
import value.

 Prawn feeds were mostly sourced from Taiwan (ROC), 1.6%; Vietnam,
0.4%; Thailand, 0.3% , Malaysia, 0.1%, and Australia, 0.05%; with a total
of $ 5.15 million on import value.

 Chilled/frozen fish comprise of tuna, mackerel and sardines with a total of

US$ 146 million. Tuna has an import value of US $86 million, the largest
among the three major import with a share of 27%. These were mostly
supplied by Papua New Guinea 6 %; Taiwan (ROC) 9.6%; China, 2.7%,
Korea, 1.9% and Japan, 1.7%. Other fishery imports include mackerel,
14.7% and sardines 4.1%.

 In terms of value, in general, the Philippine fishery imports originated from

the following major countries: China, 27%; Indonesia, 5.8%; Taiwan
(ROC), 10%; Papua New Guinea, 6%; Vietnam, 17%; Japan 5.2% ;
Norway, 4% Korea, 3.5%; USA, 5.9%; and Chile, 2.9%. Other countries
contributed 13.3% to the total import value of fish and fishery products

 Balance of Trade (2014) - computed by volume of fishery exports

subtracted to the volume of fishery imports:
MT PM SM
Fishery Exports 316,863 56,349 1,274
Fishery Imports 302,333 14,288 320
Trade Balance 14,530 42,061 954

Fishing Grounds

 A fishing ground is an area in any body of water where fish and other
aquatic resources congregate and become objects of capture.
 Most of Philippine fishing grounds are open to all Filipinos with few
limitations. This is called open access regime.
 Open Access regime - a condition of a fishery in which anyone that wishes
to fish may do so.
 Because of the open access status our fishery resources, too many
fishers are attracted in which negatively impacted the common resources
 due to the depletion brought about by the uncontrolled level of extraction.
This situation is called tragedy of the commons
 Major fishing grounds (as to volume of production) in the Philippines
include:

Fishing Ground Quantity %

(MT) Share

1. West Palawan Waters 187,728 21.02

2. South Sulu Sea 180,532 20.21

3. Visayan Sea 120,267 13.46

4. Moro Gulf 83,352 9.33

5. Lamon Bay 55,325 6.19

6. Bohol Sea 36,161 4.05

7. East Sulu Sea 18,994 2.13

8. International Waters 44,140 4.94

9. Samar Sea 25,602 2.87

10. Guimaras Strait 24,163 2.71

11. Manila Bay 25,046 2.8

12. Tayabas Bay 17,140 1.92

13. Sibuyan Sea 20,065 2.25

14. Others 54,717 6.13

15. TOTAL 893,232 100

Issues in Philippine Fisheries

 Philippine seas supply food for the whole country and livelihood for
millions of people. Fisheries are economically, culturally, socially and
ecologically important to all Filipinos. These resources are in crisis as
evidenced by the declining fish catch, size and species composition
around the country.

 The current condition of fisheries in the Philippines and worldwide is bleak.

Overfishing, illegal fishing and habitat destruction combined with
increased demand for fish and population growth continue to drive
fisheries production into a deeper abyss. Seemingly impossible just 20
years ago, protein deficiency among fishing communities is now
increasing at an alarming rate.

Core Problems Contributing Factors

 Overfishing
 Loss of marine
 Illegal and destructive fishing
biodiversity
 Coastal and habitat
 Declining fish stocks
degradation
 Loss of revenues and
 Siltation and pollution
benefits from fisheries
 Post-harvest losses
and coastal resources
 Inefficient marketing
 Open access
 Inter- and intra-sectoral
 Inequitable distribution
conflicts
of benefits from
 Low awareness and
fisheries and coastal
participation in management
resource uses
 Lack of employment/poverty
among municipal fishers
 Low awareness of the
implications of overpopulation
and food security
 Population growth  Lack of delivery mechanisms
for reproductive health
programs in rural coastal
communities
 Continued investments in
 Inconsistent policies
production-oriented programs
and programs for
 Conflicting and fragmented
sustainable fisheries
national policies
 Absence of a vision for
institutional change to support
sustainable fisheries
 Inadequate technical and
financial support to LGU
 Weak institutional and
fisheries management
stakeholder capacity to
initiatives
plan and implement
 Weak and inadequate law
fisheries management
enforcement
 Inadequate interagency
coordination mechanisms for
fisheries and coastal resource
management
 Lack of a constituency  Low awareness and
for sustainable fisheries understanding of the
 implications of overfishing on
food security and economic
development
 Polarization of stakeholders
over means to achieve
sustainable fishing

Learning Activity 1
Collect information regarding the status of fisheries sector in the province of
Pampanga in the past ten years. Describe the production of fish from each sector
(municipal fisheries, commercial fisheries and aquaculture). You can present
your result in tabular or graphical form with a comprehensive discussion.

Guide Questions 1
MULTIPLE CHOICES. Select the letter of the best answer of each statement or
question below.

1. The application of scientific knowledge concerning fish populations to the

problems of obtaining the optimum production of fishery products, whether stated
in tons of factory material or in hours of angling pressure.
a. Fisheries Science c. Stock assessment
b. Fishery Biology d. None of these

2. The three sectors of Philippine Fisheries

a. Aquaculture, Municipal Fisheries and Commercial Fisheries
b. Industrial Fisheries, Subsistence Fisheries, and Off-shore Fisheries
c. Coastal Fisheries, Inland Fisheries, and Aquaculture
d. none of the above

3. The sector of Philippine Fisheries that has the highest share in terms of
volume.
a. Municipal Fisheries
b. Commercial Fisheries
c. Aquaculture
d. Post harvest Fisheries

4. In terms of fishery export, which of the following has the highest value?
a. Tuna
b. Seaweeds
c. Crab
d. Seahorse

Answers to the Guide Question 1

1. a
2. a
3. c
4. a
Learning Assessment 1
Make a short narrative about the importance of fisheries in your locality.