Fish catch across all regional fish ports posted a 2.3 percent annual increase in January, the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) said on Thursday.
According to the PFDA, fish unloaded at the ports in January totaled 38,780.63 MT against only 37,900 MT in January last year.
Month-on-month, fish catch in January proved 19.13 percent lower compared to fish catch of only 47,952 MT just a month earlier.
The agency said the fish catch in January is best explained by the closure of the major fishing grounds and by the unfavorable weather conditions during the period.
The fish catch is expected to recover this month as the annual fishing season in waters off the Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Palawan and the Visayan Sea simultaneously re-open.
The regional ports under PFDA monitoring include Bulan in Sorsogon, Sual in Pangasinan, General Santos, Davao, Zamboanga, Lucena in Quezon Province, Iloilo, and Navotas.
