The commercial fisheries volume of production in Ilocos Region was posted at 506 metric tons in the 1st quarter 2021. The output was lower by 8.81 percent than the level in 1st quarter 2020 of 555 metric tons.
The decrease in output of Ilocos Sur and Pangasinan pulled down the overall commercial fisheries production of the region.
In terms of provincial shares, Pangasinan accounted for 51.52 percent of the region’s commercial fisheries volume of production in 1st quarter 2021. The province recorded a production of 261 metric tons, lower than the output in 1st quarter 2020 of 331 metric tons. Lesser fishing trips and hours spent in the fishing grounds brought by frequent gale warnings and early occurrence of northeasterly winds contributed to the lower volume of catch.
The top five major catch in the region during the 1st quarter 2021 were skipjack, slipmouth, threadfin bream, squid, and roundscad.
The top five major catch in Pangasinan during the quarter were roundscad, big-eyed scad, threadfin bream, indian mackerel, and slipmouth.
La Union shared 37.28 percent to the total commercial fish catch of the region in 1st quarter 2021 and posted increment in output. From the 164 metric tons recorded in the 1st quarter 2020, production grew to 189 metric tons in the 1st quarter 2021 due to increased number of fishing days, presence of more school of fish, and bigger sizes of catch.
The top five major catch in La Union during the quarter were slipmouth, squid, threadfin bream, hairtail and indian mackerel.
Ilocos Sur contributed 11.20 percent to the total commercial fisheries volume of production in the 1st quarter 2021. Its production of 57 metric tons, went down by 5.47 percent from the 60 metric tons output in 1st quarter 2020. Lesser fishing trips and hours spent in the fishing grounds due early occurrence of northeasterly winds caused the decline of fish catch.
Major species which contributed to the total output of the province include skipjack, roundscad, and yellowfin tuna.