WV municipal fish output up but commercial catch falls

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Municipal fishing output in Western Visayas increased in 2025, buoyed by conservation measures and anti-illegal fishing campaigns, while commercial production slipped, according to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

BFAR-6 data showed that municipal fisheries accounted for 17 percent, or 53,902 metric tons (MT), of the region’s total fisheries production of 311,402 MT — up from 47,512 MT in 2024.

Commercial fisheries, which comprised 14 percent of total output, dropped to 43,242 MT from 57,702 MT in 2024.

Aquaculture remained the dominant sector, contributing 69 percent, or 214,259 MT, of total production. The top commodities were milkfish, seaweed, and oysters.

BFAR-6 director Remia Aparri attributed the rise in municipal fisheries output to intensified enforcement against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, as well as sustained conservation measures.

She also cited the annual closed season in the Visayan Sea, which runs for three months from Nov. 15 to Feb. 15, as a key factor in boosting fish stocks.

“Our campaign during the closed season in the Visayan Sea is also a factor because the three major species in the Visayan Sea are being protected during their spawning period,” Aparri said Monday, April 6.

The closed season prohibits the catching, selling, and transporting of sardines, herrings, and mackerels in designated conservation areas to protect their peak spawning season and allow stocks to replenish.

The closure covers a portion of the Visayan Sea surrounding parts of northern Iloilo, Capiz, Negros Occidental, and Cebu.

Aparri also cited the harvest strategy campaign, carried out in coordination with local government units and an interagency task force, which enforces the ban on fine mesh nets.

Fine mesh nets are prohibited under the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, as amended by Republic Act 10654, to prevent the capture of juvenile fish and protect marine biodiversity.

Nets with a mesh size smaller than the standard 3 centimeters stretched are illegal, with violators facing gear confiscation, fines, and imprisonment.

The decline in commercial fisheries was linked to BFAR’s crackdown on destructive fishing practices such as Danish seine, locally known as hulbot-hulbot.

Hulbot-hulbot is a destructive method that uses a conical net with wings and heavy weights — such as rocks or iron, locally called linggote — to destroy coral reefs and seagrasses and drive fish into the net.

“Because of our campaign against IUUF and hulbot-hulbot, operators have become more compliant. Our push for voluntary compliance, along with alternative livelihood programs, also contributed to the decrease in commercial production,” Aparri said.

Aparri noted that Western Visayas has not yet been cleared of IUU fishing, pointing to undocumented and unlicensed vessels still operating in the region.

“There is still IUUF, but with the support of the task force, they have already understood our goal of sustainable fisheries. Through our consultative meetings and capacity-building programs with law enforcement and local governments, they have realized the importance of properly managing our resources,” she said.

“It is not purely a hard enforcement approach. Our new strategy focuses on information and behavioral change to achieve our target of reducing IUUF,” she added.