Marine and Aquaculture

 Negros Oriental has a thriving fishing industry due basically to built-in geographical advantages. It has an extensive coastline stretching out to 300 kilometers. Moreover, the southern parts of the province (specifically Bayawan City and the towns of Basay, Sta. Catalina and Siaton) have fishing grounds that lie along the major path of fish migration.

For the period 1999-2001, the provincial fishery output generally increased. In 2001, municipal fishing generated some 8,800 MT, or about 55 percent.of the total production of 16,029 MT. Commercial fish catch amounted to 4,833 metric tons (MT), equivalent to 30 percent. Brackishwater (e.g. fishpond) production accounted for the remaining 15 percent, or 2,390 MT. In 2002, fish production hit 15,056 metric tons. This amounted to about 12 percent of the total fish production for Region VII, and only 38 percent of the total local fish demand.

Aquaculture

In 2001, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources reported a total of 148 fishpond operators. 130 of them were in Tanjay City and owning or managing some 936 hectares of fishpond area. The combined fishpond area of Bais and Tanjay cities then accounted for nearly 68 per cent of existing fishpond areas in Negros Oriental. However, Bais City had the largest fishpond area (1,026 hectares), managed by 94 operators, in 2000.

As of 2000, there were a total of 102 operators with 25-year Fishpond Lease Agreements (FLA) covering 784.7 hectares of fishponds, equivalent to about 27 per cent of the then existing fishpond area. In addition, there were 144 operators with privately owned fishponds as well as 42 operators with proposed new fishpond areas. Most of the above-mentioned areas were devoted to the culture of milkfish and to a lesser extent, prawns.

Municipal Fishing

An estimated 14,885 municipal fishermen operate in the province (out of 88,602 in the region, or about 17 percent). Majority of them-10,200-use ordinary paddle-powered outriggers ( banca ). The more enterprising ones, 3,500 of them, use the motorized banca. Both groups manage to catch an average of 12-13 kilograms of fish daily per fisherman. Their harvest from the sea usually include mackerel, grouper, tuna, caesio, roundscad, herrings, and anchovies.

They employ a wide range of methods: bangus fry gathering/catching, barriers and traps, line fishing, impounding nets, entangling nets, multiple handline (birik-birik), gill net (pukot), beach seine (sahid), fish corral (bungsud), and the use of hand instruments. They benefit from the presence of at least 32 marine protected areas or sanctuaries scattered along some 268 kilometers of the provincial coastline.

Commercial Fishing

As of 2001, the government registered a total of 72 commercial fishing boats operating in the province. In the previous year, 29 of these licensed commercial fishing boats were using ring net gear, while only 10 such boats were using hook and line gear. But the applications for commercial fishing boat applications using ring net increased to 51 by August 2001.