By Edwin Fernandez | Philippine News Agency
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) topped the country’s fish-producing regions for the second quarter of the year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Friday.
In a report, the PSA said BARMM had a total fish production of 346.42 metric tons (MT), or 28.6 percent, from April to June, making it the biggest contributor to the fishing industry in the country during the period.
Trailing BARMM are Zamboanga Peninsula with 153.38 MT (12.6 percent); Central Luzon (Region 3) with 130.79 MT (10.8 percent); Western Visayas (Region 6) with 96.66 MT (8 percent); and Soccsksargen (Region 12) with 89.41 MT (7.4 percent).
The provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi (more known as BaSulTa) produced most of BARMM’s fishery harvest but Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur likewise contributed huge amounts.
The BARMM’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Aquatic Resources said the region’s marine products include seaweeds, frigate tuna (tulingan), round scad (galunggong), big-eyed scad (matambaka), Bali sardinella (tamban), eastern little tuna (bonito), skipjack (gulyasan), Indian mackerel (alumahan), yellowfin tuna (tambako/bariles), and tilapia.
The PSA noted that the total volume of fisheries production in the country in the same period reached 1,213.31 MT. (PNA)
