The Philippines is an archipelagic country with a large coastal population. In many areas, communities rely heavily on fisheries for subsistence and livelihoods. Both capture fisheries and aquaculture occur inland and at sea, producing various fish, shellfish, other invertebrates, and seaweed.

Capture fisheries are divided into municipal fisheries and commercial fisheries. Municipal fisheries are those within of the shore, fished with small boats. They fall under the jurisdiction of local government units (cities and municipalities), and are expected to prioritize local residents. There are more stringent rules on the fishing techniques that can be caught in municipal waters, and the local government is responsible for the sustainable management of its fisheries. Commercial fisheries consist of larger boats fishing in non-municipal national waters or international waters. Commercial fishing vessels are generally not allowed to fish in municipal waters, although local governments can permit commercial fishing in the outer third of their waters at their discretion. The aquaculture sector includes fish, shrimp, and seaweed farms in artificial ponds, inland waters, and nearshore waters.

The fisheries sector employs over 2 million people, creates around 1.5% of GDP, and produces 2% of all global fisheries products. It is an important source of domestic nutrition and a net source of exports. Many fisheries have been poorly managed, with overfishing depleting fish populations. Other challenges facing Philippine fisheries include habitat destruction, pollution, and climate change. Despite government interventions, most fisherfolk remain poor. The growth of commercial fisheries led to competition with municipal fisheries, and despite strong laws, there are implementation and enforcement challenges to prevent illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.

Fisheries management is complex, with responsibilities divided between several national agencies alongside local governments. Modern management efforts have aimed to ensure fisheries are sustainable, and prioritize the use of fisheries by local fisherfolk. Common management techniques include closed seasons to protect fish during critical parts of their life cycles, and the establishment of marine protected areas at both national and local levels.

Resources

The Philippines is an archipelagic state whose over 7,000 islands with their large coastal population are surrounded by waters including of exclusive economic zone and of territorial sea, of which is on continental shelf of deep or less, and is coral reefs. The total coastline extends . Inland waters include of swamplands ( freshwater, brackish), of lakes, of rivers, and of reservoirs.

Highly productive due to large amounts of sunlight, and stable and warm temperatures, the country's waters are highly diverse. The Philippines lies within the Coral Triangle, and one area, the Verde Island Passage, has the world's highest recorded diversity of marine species. Reef fish provide between 15 and 30% of municipal fisheries catch, with some islands relying on reefs for as much as 70% of their catch. There are 19 seagrass species, with seagrass meadows covering up to 24% of territorial waters. The value of marine ecosystem services is estimated to be at least US$966.6 billion, not including benefits from extended continental shelf area.

Philippine fisheries include small and large pelagic fisheries, demersal fisheries, and invertebrate fisheries. Small pelagic species are the most commonly caught for low-cost domestic consumption. Large pelagic species are of higher value. These resources are exploited through municipal (small-scale inland and coastal) and commercial capture fisheries, as well as aquaculture. Recreational fishing is relatively minor.

The cheap but nutritious sardine fishery consists of nine species, although there are six main ones: Bali sardinella, goldstripe sardinella, white sardinella, spotted sardinella, white sardine, and fimbriated sardines. The most fished small pelagic species is Bali sardinella, followed by roundscad, bigeye scad (and others of the Carangidae family), squid, and anchovies (of the Stolephorus genus). Other small pelagics include mackerels of the Rastrelliger genus, round herrings of the Clupeidae family, fusiliers of the Caesionidae family, flying fish, halfbeaks, Indian oil sardines, and Indian mackerel. Their presence is generally seasonal.

There are 21 tuna species, 6 of which are fished commercially, and of these 4 are the most important: yellowfin tuna, skipjack tuna, Eastern little tuna, and frigate tuna. Other large pelagic species include marlin, swordfish, and sailfish. The bigeye tuna and bullet tuna are caught in some quantity, while the albacore tuna, longtail tuna, striped bonito, and Pacific bluefin tuna are caught in minor quantities. The frigate tuna, bullet tuna, and eastern little tuna are found in shallow waters, while the rest are caught in deeper ocean. Some tuna fishing is undertaken outside of Philippine waters, although the majority of tuna catch is domestic. Trolling is used to catch mahi-mahi and marlin.

Commonly fished demersal species are threadfin bream, slipmouths, blue crab, groupers, rabbitfish, spadefish, and catfish. Deep-sea fishing is less common, with the only commonly fished species being Squalidae (dogfish) sharks. These species, especially of the Centrophorus, are harvested for the squalene within their liver oils, which is extracted for export. These dogfish fisheries go through boom and bust cycles of perhaps half a decade or so as fishing depletes the population. Other deep-sea products caught include fish of the Trichiurus genus, mostly consumed by ethnic Chinese, the manetail snake eel, mostly exported to South Korea, and shrimp including Plesionika species, Heterocarpus sibogae, and Heterocarpus gibbosus, popular among Taiwanese buyers.

The country has 51 swimming crab species, 7 of which are fished for market. The blue crab Portunus pelagicus makes up 90% of all catches, with the rest is mostly made up of Portunus sanguinolentus, Charybdis feriata, Charybdis natator, Scylla oceanica, Scylla serrata, and Podophthalmus vigil. Non-marketed species are often caught as by-catch, or in the case of Thalamita species, by hand.

There are significant fisheries for shrimp of the Acetes genus, Penaeus monodon, Penaeus merguiensis, Penaeus semisulcatus, Metapenaeus ensis, and Trachypenaeus fulvus. Squid species harvested include species from the Loliginidae family, such as Uroteuthis bartschi, Uroteuthis duvaucelii, swordtip squid, Uroteuthis singhalensis, and bigfin reef squid. Also present are Pharaoh cuttlefish and Sepia esculenta. Octopus species include Amphioctopus membranaceus.

Other harvested commodities include sea urchins such as Tripneustes gratilla, sea cucumbers such as Holothuria scabra, Trochidae and related species such as Rochia nilotica, windowpane oyster, abalone (Haliotis asinina), and seven species of giant clams: Tridacna gigas, Tridacna derasa, Tridacna squamosa, Tridacna maxima, Tridacna crocea, Hippopus hippopus, and Hippopus porcellanus. There is also a specific market for ornamental shells.

Fishing grounds The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources classifies 8 seas, 10 bays, 9 gulfs, 3 channels, 5 straits, and 2 passages as major marine fishing grounds:

East Sulu Sea () West Sulu Sea () South Sulu Sea () Sibuyan Sea () Visayan Sea () Samar Sea () Camotes Sea () Bohol Sea () Manila Bay () Tayabas Bay () Imuruan Bay () Lamon Bay () San Miguel Bay () Iligan Bay () Butuan Bay () Sibuguey Bay () Tawi-Tawi Bay () Illana Bay () Lingayen Gulf () Ragay Gulf () Asid Gulf () Panay Gulf () Lagonoy Gulf () Albay Gulf () Leyte Gulf () Moro Gulf () Davao Gulf () Babuyan Channel () Jintotolo Channel () Maqueda Channel () Mindoro Strait () Iloilo Strait () Tablas Strait () Tañon Strait () Cebu Strait () Burias Pass () Ticao Pass ()

Major inland fisheries include:

Laguna de Bay lake () Taal Lake () Naujan Lake () Lake Buhi () Lake Bato () Lake Mainit () Lake Wood () Lake Dapao () Lake Lanao () Lake Buluan ()

Capture fisheries + Top 10 caught commodities in 2022 Commodity Volume (metric tons/MT) Value (PhP) Tuna 475,313.47 54,317,559,120 Sardines 336,171.88 12,781,256,340 Roundscad 172,268.17 16,934,618,770 Bigeye scad 112,743.91 12,646,930,160 Mackerel 74,815.47 9,903,233,550 Squid 57,302.61 8,607,329,610 Anchovies 52,993.62 4,311,634,570 Tilapia 52,126.25 4,529,873,220 Threadfin bream 33,973.38 5,373,593,250 Slipmouth 33,920.45 2,939,328,210 Others 587,317.37 70,219,629,600 TOTAL 1,988,946.58 202,564,986,400

Capture fisheries are officially divided into two kinds: municipal and commercial. Of overall fisheries production in 2020, 22.34% of production was from municipal capture fisheries, and 35.84% from commercial capture fisheries. The Luzon and Visayas areas have significant numbers of small-scale fisheries, while the Mindanao region has more large-scale commercial ventures, especially in the cities of General Santos and Zamboanga. The cost involved in capture fisheries are mostly operational, with less than 10% being fixed costs like licenses, taxes, and fees.

As of 2012, 51% of capture fishery was municipal, and 49% commercial. Key fishery species are caught by both fisheries, with commercial fisheries taking 61.2% of the 10 most caught species in 2012 while municipal fisheries caught 38.8%. As of 2022, capture fisheries produced 1.99 million metric tons (MT) of fisheries products worth PHP202.56 billion. From 2013 to 2022 the volume being caught has decreased, however, the overall value of the catch increased over that time. The decrease in overall catch was unevenly distributed across the country, with some regions decreasing much more than others. Over half of caught fish come from five regions: IX, XII, Bangsamoro, VI, and V, in order of production. Region IX produces the most, 349,593.95 MT worth PHP25,040,132,060. By volume, over half (53.12%) of the products landed in this region are sardines. By value, Region XII produces the most, PHP28,210,320,790 from 281,843.09 MT, due to 80.25% by volume (79.24% by value) being tuna fisheries.

+ Landings at Philippine Fisheries Development Authority-managed ports in 2012 City/Municipality Landings (tonnes) General Santos 139,613 Navotas 137,650 Iloilo City 25,033 Lucena 20,600 Zamboanga City 5,213 Davao City 3,287 Sual 748

Capture fisheries unload at a mixture of large government ports (run by the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA)), local government ports, private ports, and traditional landings. The large ports are more able to handle complex operations. Aquaculture produce is also sold at ports. General Santos is especially important for the commercial tuna fishery. Zamboanga City is the major port for sardine commercial fisheries, with the Zamboanga Peninsula region receiving 46% of sardine catch. The six most significant sardine fisheries are the Ragay Gulf-Ticao Pass-San Bernardino Strait area, the Bohol Sea, the East Sulu Sea and Sulu Archipelago, the Visayan Sea, the Moro Gulf and its associated Illana Bay, and Sibuguey Bay.

The larvae and juveniles of some species are sometimes deliberately fished. Dwarf pygmy goby fry, Stolephorus anchovy fry, and rabbitfish fry are caught for consumption. Other fry, such as milkfish, are caught to stock aquaculture. Juveniles caught for food are exported frozen and sold domestically, both fresh and dried, where they are used as finger food and as sauce ingredients.

Municipal fisheries