Comparing 2023 with 2024

PSA says fisheries prod’n

volume rose by 27.16%

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, (PIA)—The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), in its annual survey results report a 27.16 percent increase in fisheries catch from 2023 to 2024.

In its fact sheets summarizing the results of the Census on Agriculture and Fisheries (CAF), the PSA said that Bohol topped 18.73 kilo tons of fish produce in 2023, a figure that jumped to 23.82 kilo tons by the end of 2024.

PSA also noted a very minimal increase in production in 2022 compared to 2023; at 1.40 percent increase.

From 18.47 kilo tons of fisheries produced in 2022, the figure crept to 18.73 kilo tons by 2023.

As to the value of production however, the 18.47 kilo tons of fisheries in 2022 amounted to P2,512.85 billion.

By 2023 however, the 18.73kilo tones only amounted to P2,404.52 billion; a noted decrease in the value of production at 4.31 percent.

From 2023 to 2024 however, the value of production peaked anew with the 23.82 kilo tons now translating to P2,868.36 billion, on a 19.29 percent increase.

While Bohol enjoys a variety of high quality fisheries owing to its proximity to the pelagic highway for tuna, barracuda, trevally and good reef covers which are the territories of groupers, rabbitfish, jackfish which gave local industries the P415.06 million in production value, the aquaculture of vannamei ranked second among top fishery species produced here and based on their value of production.

Vannamei racked in a total of P376.98 million in sales in 2024, followed by big-eyed scad (Matangbaka or tamarong) pitching in sales at P367.21 million in production.

Squid ranked fourth among the top 5 species, which sold last year at P281.93 million and top aqua-culture product in milkfish which gave P263.19 million in production sales last year.

As to top five fisheries in volume, Bohol still produced 5.77 kilotons of seaweeds from its farms in northern Bohol, notwithstanding the ongoing rehabilitation of several farms destroyed by Odette and the rising sea temperature which causes seaweeds diseases.

This is followed by the contributed bulk of other marine fisheries at 3.36 kilo tons.

Milkfish aquaculture, with the government focused support to fill in the huge gap in fisheries product demand for the tourism and domestic consumption, ranked third with 2.33 kilotons harvested in 2024.

Tamarong came fourth with harvests reaching 2.09 kilo tons followed by squid at 1.86 kilotons.

Over-all, the biggest contributive value of production would come from the municipal waters where 53.3 percent of the fisheries harvested would come. Municipal waters include some 0.2 percent inland waters like lakes, ponds and irrigation impounding systems, rivers and marshlands while marine fisheries comprise 98.8 percent where fishing is carried out by boats from smallest ones to those weighing below three gross tons.

With the government popularizing aquaculture, Bohol has developed 30.8 percent of its harvest from cultures in marine, brackish and freshwaters under controlled conditions.

Only 16.6 percent of the fisheries production value would come from commercial fishing. (PIABohol)

DEEP SEA FISHING. With dwindling fish catch and less efficient gears, the government is now looking into the open sea fishing using bigger and more efficient boats to catch more fish to land in their community markets to help stabilize fish prices. Bigger boats means bigger catch. (PIABohol/BFARBohol)