Imposing fishing bans in certain areas is among the steps undertaken by the government to address overfishing and boost the country's aquaculture, President Marcos said.

Marcos said the government has come up with plans to address overfishing and one of them is imposing fishing bans and other restrictions in certain areas, particularly those intended for fish breeding and propagation.

“Kung minsan kailangan ‘wag uubusin yung isda para sa next season mayroon pa. Kaya yun yung tinitingnan natin ngayon (We must not overfish so we still have enough supply in the next season. So that's what we are looking at now),” the President said on Tuesday, Sept. 19, explaining why fishing ban must be imposed.

“At may mga lugar na hindi dapat gawin palaisdaan dahil ito nga ay para sa breeding (And there are areas that must not be used for fishing because these are for breeding),” Marcos added.

The President said developing Philippine agriculture does not only mean securing the supply of rice and corn, but also involves improving the fishery and the livestock sectors.

The government, he said, must help the fishery sector to address the low catch and the destruction of breeding sites.

Marcos also cited programs to put up more cold storage facilities to prevent spoilage, noting that up to 30 percent of the fish catch is degraded or damaged.

“Walang cold storage. Kaya nagtatayo tayo ng cold storage. Doon naman sa mga maliliit na bagsakan ay magbibigay tayo ng gawaan ng yelo, para yung yelo na ‘yan, yun yung ilalagay nila sa bangka para pag may nahuli sila, ilalagay lang doon sa yelo at hindi masira ‘yung isda (There is no cold storage. So we will put up one. We will also provide ice-making equipment so fishers can use it onboard their boats to avoid spoilage of fish)," Marcos said.

The Chief Executive said these measures are part of the government’s plan of securing the country’s fish stocks along with other initiatives for the agriculture sector to ensure food security.