Exploring the potential of inland fisheries and aquatic resources in the Philippines

Traditionally, the inland fisheries subsector of the Philippines has been a modest contributor to overall fisheries production. For the period 2001-2003, inland fisheries only shared an average of 13.3 percent of aggregate catch coming from marine and inland fisheries (BAS 2005). Furthermore, inland fisheries production has significantly fallen over time, from 229,973 tons in 1992 to 136,347 tons in 2001. For its part, overall fisheries also had a small contribution to the national economy, sharing less than 3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2003.