The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is aiming to achieve a 100-percent food-fish sufficiency level in the country by 2028.
BFAR said the Philippines’ food-fish sufficiency level, net of trade was at 92.5 percent by end-2022.
BFAR said the 2028 target is enshrined in its strategic plan detailing the bureau’s goals for the development, improvement, management and conservation of the Philippines’ fishery and aquatic resources within the next five years.
Demosthenes Escoto, BFAR national director, said in a statement the agency will strive to enhance production in the fisheries sector through increased productivity and reduced post-harvest losses of fish and fishery products.
Among the measures identified in the strategic plan are the distribution of additional interventions such as new fiberglass reinforced plastic boats, fishing gears and paraphernalia; establishment of mariculture parks; reassessment and maintenance of existing mariculture parks; development and recommendation of supplemental guidelines for the operation and management of legislated hatcheries.
The plan calls for the provision and modernization of fisheries post-harvest and cold chain technologies and facilities; establishment of common shared service facilities for fish and fishery product; crafting of commodity-specific marketing plans, expanding participation in market linkaging and businesses; establishment and facilitation of direct linkage between fisherfolk borrowers and financing institutions; and maximizing utilization of government assets on logistics as well as partnership with private sector in aid of marketing activities.
BFAR said it would strengthen its coordination and collaboration with the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute for updated and appropriate fishing technologies and provide assistance in the formation of the fisherfolk into associations or cooperatives.
“…Food fish sufficiency is more than just sustenance on our tables; it embodies a nation’s inherent resilience in the face of challenges and serves as a bedrock for prosperity and the overall well-being of our people,” Escoto added.
BFAR’s strategic plan also envisions empowered, competitive and resilient fisherfolk, to achieve a five-percent poverty reduction within five years in the fisheries sector, or bringing down the poverty incidence to 26 percent by 2028.
BFAR’s data showed a 30.6 percent and 26.2 percent poverty incidence in the fisheries sector in 2021 and 2018, respectively.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, the country’s fisheries subsector suffered a 5.2 percent decline in production as several fish species recorded output contractions.
These include tunsoy, bisugo, alimasag, tiger prawn, sapsap, lapu lapu, tilapia, squid, skipjack, milkfish, matangbaka, tulingan and talakitok, among others.