Fishing and Forestry

With its 7,107 islands, the Philippines has a very diverse range of fishing areas. The abundant resources of the sea are bit exploited. At present, the Philippines is one of the largest producers of tilapia, tuna, shrimp and prawns. Fishing techniques are frequently primitive, following traditional methods, and the catches mainly go to meet only local needs. Notwithstanding good prospect for agricultural sector the marine fishing industry continue to face a bleak future due to fishing methods, lack of funds and inadequate support of the government. The country’s forest resources, on the other hand, have been substantially reduced by over-felling, mainly for the export of undressed timber. In view of the catastrophic results of deforestation in terms of erosion the government is now strictly regulating forestry working and developing a reforestation policy.