DA: Fisheries show signs of recovery

Posting more vibrant activity in the first quarter, the Philippines’ regional fish ports showed signs of recovery for the whole fisheries sector, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Thursday. Fishing arrivals rose at an average of 93 percent for the Navotas, Iloilo, and Sual regional fish ports in the first quarter of 2011, the DA said in a statement, quoting a report by Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) general manager Rodolfo Paz Jr. The Navotas port alone registered 27,492 metric tons (MT) of unloaded fish, a 45-percent improvement from 18,909 MT in the same period in 2010, Paz said. He noted a similar trend at the Davao Fish Port Complex, with a 40-percent growth to 1,134 MT in the first quarter from 812 MT in the same period last year. “This scenario reflects a faster turnaround of fishing vessels and bancas as a result of an increase in fish production," Paz said. Earlier this year, the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics said commercial fishermen produced 234,960.12 MT of fish for the first quarter, a 20-percent decline from the 292,080.90 MT in the same period last year, according to the DA. — PE/VS, GMA