PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday said government is looking at imposing fishing bans and other restrictions in some areas in the country, especially those used for breeding fingerlings, to address the problem of overfishing and boost fish population and aquaculture.
The President said improving the country’s agriculture sector not only means securing rice and corn supply but also improving the fishery and the livestock sectors, according to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).
Marcos said the government is coming up with a plan to secure the country’s fish stocks, along with other initiatives for the agriculture sector, to ensure food security.
“There are some places that should not be used for fishing because they are better used for breeding … to increase the population of fishes. That is what we are planning,” he said in Filipino.
He did not say where and when the fishing ban will be implemented. He said government is finalizing the plan.
The President said fish production in the country has gone down as some breeding grounds have been destroyed over the years.
Marcos said apart from increasing fish production, his administration implemented programs to prevent fish spoilage, like putting up more cold storage facilities especially in fish ports. He said up to 30 percent of the fish catch is degraded or damaged due to the lack of cold storage.
In May this year, Marcos said he wants to build at least 11 cold storage warehouses on top of ongoing construction of cold storage facilities in the ports in General Santos City and Cagayan de Oro City. He said he wants all these storage facilities operational within the year.
Marcos, yesterday, said in areas where building a cold storage is not feasible, the government will put up an ice plant to ensure there is enough ice to prevent fish from becoming spoiled.
The President said the government also plans to put up a fisheries processing plant so that fish would be processed in a single area.
