Fishery and Aquatic Resources

The coastline of the Province covers 14 municipalities and one (1) city. The major fishing grounds are in Illana, Dumanquillas, Maligay and Panguil Bays.

5.1.4 Fishponds

The Office of Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) reported that as of 2001 the total area for developed fishponds is 2,573.9994 hectares while undeveloped is 6,980.7688 hectares. Among the fishpond products, Bangus had the highest productions with average yield of 500 to 900 kilos per hectare while prawn had 300 to 600 kilos per hectare.
On the other hand, the are 10 freshwater hatcheries maintained and 10 demonstration farms established by the province produced about 332,434 fishes and dispersed 209,825 to 424 farmers cooperators.

5.1.5 Offshore Fishing

In 1999 the estimated fish production is P 66,174 metric tons. The commercial fishers in the province are operating in the neighboring coastal waters due to the depleting fish yield in the province's municipal waters. It is noted that the reported production in year 2000 is only the municipal fishing due to inadequate data on commercial fishing. However, the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) recorded that Pagadian City landing center in the wharf area had a total of 3,504 MT production for CY 2001 from the commercial fisheries of Moro Gulf and Illana Bay. The said production had an increased of 24.5% from year 2000. The said increased is the result of the many efforts and initiatives of the LGUs and multi-sectoral group in the protection, conservation, regeneration and management of the bay's resources.

5.1.6 Other Aquatic Resources

Seaweed production are Illana and Dumanguillas Bays as alternative livelihood of the fisherfolks. CY 2001 produced 23 metric tons dried seaweeds.

On the other hand, shellfish can be found in all the bays of the Province. Specifically, it is very abundant in Dumanquillas Bay. The province regularly conducted red tide monitoring for immediate detention of its contamination.

Quite alarming was the observed depletion of the crustaceans that were once vastly found in Panguil Bay. As reported by some experts from the Mindanao State University (MSU), Naawan, mudcrab resources dwindled by as much as 90 percent. Thus, the LGUs and other concerned agencies initiated important actions for its fast regeneration.