Philippines fishermen believes that the lucrative fishing industry still has a bright future in helping boost up the economic growth due to the availability of vast water resources which could be tapped for commercial fish production even at the height of the El Niño phenomenon or prolonged dry spell.

At the 6th National Convention of Fisherfolks this sentiment was running aloud. The convention was held to strengthen partnership with the government in fisheries management. According to Gil Adora, assistant director for technical services of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), while rivers and lakes are drying up due to the serious negative effects of the onslaught of El Niño in the country, the trend that must be adopted by the fisherfolks is to develop fish production areas in the vast track of salt waters in different parts of the country in order to sustain fish self-sufficiency in the coming years.

Adora asserted despite natural calamities the country’s fishing industry still has bright future and it should be tapped and supported by concerned agencies coupled with the resilience of fisherfolks so that it will also make a difference in the country’s economic growth because of the existence of vast tracks of coastal areas which could serve as production areas for various kinds of fishes. Official figure shows that the Philippines is the eighth top fish producer in the world with its coastline length of about 36,289 kilometers.