Davao de Oro Defies Regional Fisheries Slump with 18% Production Surge
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources–Davao Region (BFAR-Davao) has apprehended three commercial fishing vessels along the region's eastern coastline for violating the Amended Fisheries Code. This enforcement action comes amid a period of significant challenges for the regional fishing industry.
Regional Production Declines Sharply
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority-Davao Region (PSA-Davao) reveals that total fisheries production across Davao Region dropped by 28.7 percent during the fourth quarter of 2025. The region produced 13,838.29 metric tons across all fishing sectors, significantly lower than the 19,418.07 metric tons recorded during the same period in 2024.
Davao de Oro's Remarkable Growth
While most provinces experienced substantial declines, Davao de Oro stood out as the only province to post a production increase during this challenging period. The province's fisheries production rose by 18 percent to 773.99 metric tons in the fourth quarter of 2025, up from 656.07 metric tons in the same period of 2024. This represents the highest growth rate among all provinces and cities in the region.
Provincial Performance Varies Widely
The regional decline was not evenly distributed across all provinces:
- Davao del Sur suffered the sharpest drop at 58.8 percent, falling from 8,373.29 metric tons to 3,451.28 metric tons
- Davao Oriental posted the smallest decline among provinces at 16.9 percent, decreasing from 6,695.89 metric tons to 5,565.92 metric tons
- Davao City recorded the lowest overall fisheries output at 1,075.30 metric tons
Sectoral Analysis Reveals Mixed Results
Marine Municipal Fisheries: This sector remained a major contributor to the region's total catch, although production declined by 17.9 percent to 6,729.79 metric tons. Davao Oriental continued to dominate municipal fisheries production with 3,489.32 metric tons, accounting for 51.8 percent of the region's municipal fisheries output despite a 24.3 percent decline.
Inland Fisheries: This sector showed remarkable growth during the quarter, with total output reaching 13.51 metric tons – a 104.7 percent increase from the previous year. Davao de Oro led this expansion with 7.73 metric tons, representing a 210.4 percent increase from the fourth quarter of 2024.
Aquaculture: Production in this sector contracted significantly, dropping 44 percent to 5,056.92 metric tons. All provinces posted declines except Davao de Oro and Davao Oriental. Despite the contraction, Davao del Sur remained the region's top aquaculture producer, though its output dropped by 61.1 percent to 2,807.09 metric tons.
Species Performance
Milkfish remained the region's leading fishery commodity by production volume, though output declined from 6,606.18 metric tons in 2024 to 3,424.55 metric tons in 2025. Squid ranked second in production volume, while big-eyed scad placed third after its output fell to 1,330.10 metric tons from 1,932.19 metric tons in the previous year.
The PSA noted that the inland fisheries expansion "underscores a significant improvement in inland fishing activities across the region during the period," while the aquaculture decline "reflects a notable shrinkage in aquaculture activities across most of the region's provinces."
