TACLOBAN CITY – Having more fishing boats does not mean higher fish production, but instead could lead to possible overfishing especially in municipal waters such as the case in Eastern Visayas.
The Philippine Statistics Authority regional office in Eastern Visayas, in a report released on Wednesday, said fishery production in Eastern Visayas declined by 5.2 percent in the second quarter of 2025 to 25,955 metric tons (MT) compared to 27,370 MT during the same quarter in 2024.
The decline is attributed to an 11 percent drop in municipal fisheries production.
Despite having one of the longest coastlines in the country, Eastern Visayas ranked seventh among the regions with the lowest fishery production during the second quarter of 2025.
PSA said substantial drops in municipal fishing production were recorded in Biliran (51.8%), Leyte (37.6%), and Eastern Samar (29.8%). Production increased though in Samar, Northern Samar, and Southern Leyte with Southern Leyte posting the highest increase at 29.4 percent.
Fisherfolk who catch their fish in Carigara Bay (between Biliran and Leyte) and Leyte Gulf (between Leyte and Eastern Samar) have been complaining of dwindling catch due to stiff competition from their peers who fish in the same municipal waters.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources regional office said the slump in production can be result of several factors such as unfavorable weather conditions, encroachment of commercial fishers into municipal waters and socio-economic conditions at that time such as the election period.
Data from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources shows that Eastern Visayas had 45,215 registered municipal fishing vessels in 2023, the highest among regions during that year.
On the other hand, PSA Eastern Visayas also reported an increased production in the commercial fisheries and aquaculture sectors at 2.2 percent and 55.1 percent, respectively.
Commercial fishing production increased by 2.2 percent in the second quarter of 2025, accounting for 24.0 percent of the total fishery production in the region.
PSA said Eastern Samar recorded the largest increase in fishery production among the six provinces of the region, recorded at 2,103.07 MT in the second quarter of 2025 from 1,554.88 MT in the same quarter of 2024, representing a 35.3 percent growth.
Aquaculture significantly grew by 55.1 percent in the second quarter of 2025, reaching 1,865.28 MT from 1,202.50 MT in the same quarter of 2024.
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