If it persists, the El Niño weather pattern would affect the freshwater aquaculture sector the most.
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources regional director Andres M. Bojos said they have advised fisher folk to maintain water levels of at least one meter deep and dig deeper ponds for fish farms in brackish water.
If the fish start exhibiting behavior such as gasping, despite the deeper ponds, then pre-emptive fishing should be done, Bojos said in a recent forum.
Among the fisheries sectors, he said freshwater aquaculture is the most vulnerable to a dry spell. This occurs when rainfall values fall below normal for three consecutive months.
“There would be difficulty allocating freshwater resources as these are primarily for human consumption. Secondly, we have small freshwater farms. These are easily affected when temperatures rise,” Bojos said in Cebuano.
Freshwater farms contribute to the total fisheries production, but Bojos said its share is “not that big.”
Only tilapia is produced in significant volume. But the volume is still not enough to impact on the economy. Majority of the produce still comes from the sea, Bojos said.
Freshwater production was halved to 1.76 metric tons in the first quarter of this year from 3.58 metric tons a year ago. Tilapia production also decreased year-on-year to 1.13 metric tons this year from 1.89 metric tons last year.
Bojos said the decrease may be attributed to the increase in temperature. Other factors were sudden changes in water temperature, minimal use of commercial feeds, financial constraints and stunted growth of tilapia.
BFAR 7 has registered a total of 400 official fishpond lease agreements.
Overall marine production and supply have so far not yet been affected by the prolonged high temperature, Bojos said.
He said they have not received any reports on problems concerning the weather from local fisherfolk
Fisheries products available for export are seaweeds and Philippine black tiger shrimp. According to Bojos, white shrimp can now enter the global market as there is increasing demand for the commodity.
“We are trying to ensure that the white shrimp industry does not collapse like the black shrimp industry,” he said. BFAR has established regulatory mechanisms in the industry.
The biggest source of aquaculture products is still the sea. So far, Bojos said there has been no drastic changes in production and supply.
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