After approximately ten years of decline, Philippine fisheries production has been on an upward trend since 2018, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources said on Monday.

However, a decrease in production was noted in 2020 due to the pandemic, a key BFAR official noted.

“We have seen that the trend of our fisheries production has changed, and this is a good sign that the conservation measures we are taking are having results and the interventions that the government is giving so that we can increase fisheries production, develop, and, of course, it means the development of the livelihood of our fishermen,” said fisheries spokesperson and head of the information and fisherfolk coordination unit, Nazario Briguera, in a televised interview.

According to Briguera, the average local fishery production is about four million metric tons.

Meanwhile, he said that the country's aquatic production increased in the first, third, and fourth quarters of 2023.

A decline was registered in the second quarter, where a -11.10 was recorded.

“But overall, although what we have is still negative, we lowered it to -1.80, but we can attribute it to the operational cost,” Briguera noted, adding that the increase in fuel prices and unfavorable weather conditions played a big part in Filipino fishermen's operations, leading to a decrease in last year's local production.

“But, as I said earlier, it's still good because I said that for ten years the trend was downward, but in 2018 we started to go up the trend of fisheries production."

According to Briguera, the provision of fuel subsidies to Filipino fishers will also be part of Livelihood Activities to Enhance Fisheries Yield and Economic Gains from the West Philippine Sea, or Layag WPS, which the bureau will be launching this year as a step in ensuring Filipino fishermen in WPS receive sufficient aid and support from the government.

Moreover, the BFAR will also launch the National Payao Program.

The fisheries official described payao as a fish-aggregating device put in the ocean.

“This is like attracting fish; they go to one place, and it is not difficult for the fisherman to find more because they have a permanent place to go where the fish gather,” Briguera explained.

“So, they [the fishers] save more money because if there is no payao, they will go around looking for fish. But this, because we have an aggregating fish device, there is a permanent place where our fishermen go, and there they can fish, hook in line; these are big tuna.”