The activities of the expert during his assignment in the Philippines from June 1966 to December 1968 covered the following subjects:
Development of the statistical system (Section 3.2)
The 1970 Census of Fisheries (Section 3.3)
Ad hoc analyses of existing fishery statistics (Section 3.4)
Training of statistical personnel (Section 3.5)
Although the expert, in his capacity as Acting Regional Fishery Statistician, visited Taiwan during 28 February to 22 March 1968 to assist the Taiwanese Government design a sample survey for fishery manpower statistics, this survey will not be discussed in this report because it was not conducted on behalf of the Philippine Governemt.
Further detail of the activities of the expert follow.
After a careful study of the status of fishery statiztics in the Philippines, the expert concluded that the aim of this project should be:
The establishment of a permanent statistical system for gathering current fishery production statistics for the Philippines Fisheries Commission, applying sample survey methods for each of the four fisheries.
This conclusion was reached for the following reasons:
In order to keep track of the current trend of fisheries, the Philippines Fisheries Commission require a permanent statistical system for gathering current statistical data.
Fisheries statistics needed by a governemnt can usually be grouped as follows:
Statistics which show the structure of fishery industries and are usually gathered by a fishery census; number of fishing establishments, the number of fishing households, the number of fishing workers, the number of fishing boats, the number of fishing gears, etc.
Statistics of fishery production; catch statistics, fishing efforts statistics, fish landing statistics, etc.
Statistics of fish marketing; fish-price statistics, fish processing statistics, fish distribution statistics, import-export statistics of fishery products, etc.
Statistics which show the economic situation of fishing establishments and fishing households.
Among these groups of fishery statistics, it was decided to give priority to the development of fishery production statistics.
This was because;
Reliable production statistics were most urgently required
Once a permanent system for production statistics was established, it would be comparatively easy to expand the system for gathering fishery statistics.
Sample survey methods to be applied because:
Since there was no readily avaioable sources of production data in the field, the only possible way of gathering reliable catch or landing data was for enumeraters to observe actual landing operations or ask fishermen about their catches. With a limited number of enumeraters available, sample surveys were apposite.
With a carefully designed sample survey, reliable estimates can be obtained with the precision of the estimates being set in advance.
Separate sample surveys were to be designed for the different fisheries because of differences in the characteristics of survey objects between fisheries.
In each of the sample surveys, there was a need for a frame or a list of survey objects from which sampling units could be selected in an objective way following scientific sampling techniques. When such a frame was not readily in hand, a preliminary frame survey had to be conducted. Such a preliminary survey provided not only a frame for a sample survey for production statistics but also basic statistics on the survey objects. These data were often found to be very useful especially when a fishery census had not been previously taken.
Statistical surveys of activities conducted or to be conducted
The following statistical surveys or activities were formulated by the expert in order to improve the production statistics for each of the four fisheries.
Commercial Fisheries:
Fish Landing Surveys at ten main fish landing places
Improvement of the methods of processing data available from the Fish Caught Reports.
Marine Municipal Fisheries:
Identification Survey of Marine Barrios (Communities)
Catch Survey of Marine Barrios (Communities)
Fishpond Fisheries:
Area of Fishponds
Productivity Survey of Fishponds
Inland Fisheries Other than Fishponds
Fishery Survey of Laguna de Bay
Inland Fisheries Survey
These surveys were fully described in a paper entitled Guide for Fisheries Statistical Surveys prepared by the expert in October 1968 (upon request of the Commissioner of Fisheries, Mr. Mane) for distribution to Regional Directors of Fisheries in order to expedite the implementation of the surveys. Consequently only an outline of these surveys will be described in this report.
Commercial Fisheries
(1) Fish Landing Surveys
For establishing more realistic “raising factors” (see Section 2.2) Fish Landing Surveys were planned for ten main fish landing places, where almost 80% of the total landings of commercial fishing vessels are landed. However, by this time, the surveys have been initiated at only three landing places in Luzon Island mainly due to the shortage of male statistical personnel.
| Fishery Region | Fish Landing | Month of Initiation |
| I | Damortis, La Union | July 1967 |
| III | Navotas, Rizal | July 1966 |
| IV | Mercedes, Camarines Norte | July 1967 |
A new raising factor is to be calculated for each Fishery Region every year and will be applied to all the landing data derived from Fish Caught Reports for the Fishery Region. The new annual raising factor per Fishery Region is calculated as follows. Firstly, the annual total landings at the landing place is estimated using survey results. Secondly the Fish Caught Reports received from the same fish landing place for the same year are aggregated to obtain a second estimate of annual total landings. The ratio of the first estimate to the second is the new raising factor for the Fishery Region in which the fish landing place is located. In Fishery Regions having two fish landing places subject to survey, one regional raising factor is calculated by pooling the results of both surveys.
The Fish Landing Surveys vary between landing places, the sample design depending on local circumstances. Data are always obtained from actual observations made by enumerators at the fish landing places which are generally surveyed every other night or morning by two enumerators. As the main purpose of the survey is to estimate total landings, the enumerators' work is mainly to count the boats involved, and the number of fish containers per boat. These boats are, for example, the amphibians at Navotas, the service boats at Damorties and the fishing boats at Mercedes.
The breakdown of the total landings by fishing methods and by kinds of fish are also surveyed on a sample basis. In the future, a fish price survey will be undertaken without difficulty by the same enumerators.
(2) Improvement of the method of processing data available from Fish Caught Reports
The tabulation of the Fish Caught Reports is the most time consuming task of the Economics and Statistics Section since about 30,000 reports need to be processed every year. The Fish Caught Reports are submitted monthly by the operators of commercial fishing vessel for each vessel operated, and include such data as the total monthly catch, the catch by kinds of fish, the fishing method, the landing place, the fishing ground and the gross tonnage of the vessel.
In order to reduce the time spent on this work so as to be able to utilize the time saved for the other work of the Section, the expert improved the data processing method. Up to the 1966 Fish Caught Reports were used directly for the tabulation work and the resulting system was complicated. For the 1967 data, the expert introduced a card tabulation system, in which the data on the Fish Caught Reports were transcribed to a newly designed card and thd the cards were used for the tabulation work. The cards were of a handy size and contained only the data necessary for tabulation; further the data used for classification were all coded. In this card system, the cards were sorted manually whenever sorting was necessary, while in the old system, sorting was possible only once at the beginning.
The expert proposed that from 1968 the data be processed by electronic computer. The punching documents are to be prepared by the Fisheries Commission using a card similar to that used for the manual system, described above, and the data processing is to be effected by IBM Philippine Incorporated. The expert made all the necessary arrangements for this work in connection with the contract between the Commission and IBM, the checking of the source data and the preparation of the tables to be tabulated.
Marine Municipal Fisheries:
(3) Identification Survey of Marine Barrios (Communities) In this category of fisheries not even a list of marine fishing barrios (communities) was available. Therefore, before commencing a catch sample survey, a frame or list of marine barrios had to be prepared. The Identification Survey of Marine was undertaken for this purpose.
About one year before the expert was assigned to the Philippine the Fisheries commission had started this survey by mailing form to all municipalities. However, response was extremely poor, only 6% out of 6,000 marine barrios having reported after the arrival of the expert, this survey was re-started started by sending statistical personnel directly to the marine barrios. This survey has been completed in Fisheries Regions I, III and IV which cover Luzon Island and Palawan Island and in a large part of Regions V and VI. However, in Mindanao Island which is divided into two regions (Regions VII and VIII), the survey has not made much progress.
The survey entails an interview by the enumerateor with the barrio captain or a councilman enquiring into the number of fishing families, on fishing boats with or without engine, of fish corrals, etc. A preliminary list of marine barrios was prepared based on the 1960 Population Census Map.
(4) Catch survey of Marine Barrios (Communities)
The purpose of the Catch Survey of Marine Barrios is to estimate the total monthly catch of the marine municipal fisheries by Fisheries Region, and its breakdown by fishing method and by kind of fish. About 200 sample marine barrios are to be selected from the list of marine barrios prepared by the Identification Survey of Marine Barrios.
The enumerators visit the sample barrios once a month to estimate the total catch during the previous month in each sample barrio, using information from at least five fishing families in each sample barrio. The information includes the number of fishing units by fishing method operated during the previous month, the number of fishing days by fishing method, the average daily catch by fishing method and also the fish composition for each of the fishing methods operated. The junior statistician stationed at the Fisheries Regional Office estimates the monthly total catch in the Fisheries Region and its breakdown by fishing method and by kind of fish using the sample data submitted to him by the enumerators.
This survey has been initiated in the following Fisheries Regions
| Fisheries Region | Month of Initiation |
| I | August 1967 |
| III | April 1967 |
Even though the Identification Survey of Marine Barrios has been completed in Fisheries Region II, the Catch Survey has not been initiated in this Region because suitable enumerators were not available. Since one enumerator can cover about four sample barrios on the average, about 50 enumerators are needed to cover the whole country.
Fishpond Fisheries
(5) Area of Fishpond
The annual production of fishponds is calculated by province by multiplying the fishpond area by the average productivity per hectare per year. In order to improve the area statistics of fishponds, (1) the Area Survey of Fishponds was conducted for privately-owned fishponds, and (2) the method of aggregating the area data on government-leased fishponds recorded in licence documents was improved.
In the Area Survey of Fishponds, the source was the information on privately owned fishponds entered on a provincial form entitled “Declaration of Real Property” kept by Municipal Treasurers' Office. The area data transcribed to survey forms which were submitted by the Municipal Treasurers to the Fisheries Commission in compliance with a request of the Acting Secretary of Finance. The Survey was started in September 1967 and a follow-up letter by the Commissioner was sent in April 1968 to those offices which had failed to report. About 50% of all the offices had replied by the end of 1968.
The area data of the government-leased fishponds used to be compiled by adding the area of the newly developed fishponds appearing in the licence documents newly issued during the year to the statistics of the previous year. However, it was realized that some renewed licences for already developed fishponds were being included in the tabulations. To improve this situation, all the licence documents were checked to exclude duplications and all the valid records were tabulated.
The list of fishponds obtained from these two activities will be utilized as a frame for a sample survey of fishpond productivity.
(6) Productivity Survey of Fishponds
A sample survey of fishpond productivity is to be undertaken to determine the average productivity of fishponds by province, to replace the unreliable factors presently use. The Productivity Survey of Fishponds is to be carried out once a year, selecting a sample of roughly 200 operators for the whole country from the list of fishponds already prepared. The technical personnel of the Fisheries Commission who are stationed in the field and specialize in fishpond culture are to interview the sample operators. This survey has not been started yet, but is expected to be undertaken, in 1969.
Other Inland Fisheries
(7) Fishery Survey of Laguna de Bay
There are several big lakes in the Philippines for which separate statistical surveys can be conceived. The Fishery Survey of Laguna de Bay was started in September 1968 as the first survey of this kind. This survey consists of two stages; the first stage being called the Listing Survey of Duck Farms and Fishing Families, and the second stage, the Duck Feed and Fish Catch Survey. The data on ducks are included in the survey because snails and small shrimps caught in this lake are fed to more than half a million ducks as their main diet and constitute the largest fishery production item at this lake.
The purpose of the listing Survey of Duck Farms and Fishing Families is to prepare a complete list of duck farms and a complete list of fishing families operating around the lake from which samples for the second stage survey are to be selected. This survey, at the same time, provides basic statistics on survey objects such as the number of duck farms, the number of ducks, the number of fishing families, the number of fishermen, the number of fishing boats and the number of fishing gears. The survey method of the Listing Survey was as follows. Six enumerators from the Freshwater Fisheries Division and a few assistants were assigned to this survey and divided into four teams, one for each of four areas. Each survey team visited all the barrios (communities) in their assigned area where any duck farm and/or fishing families existed, and interviewed the barrio captain or other people who were familiar with duck farming and/or fishing operations in order to ascertain the names of duck farm operators and the heads of fishing families. These names and some basic information were recorded on listing forms. In many cases, the survey teams visited duck farms and fishing families directly on house to house basis when the barrio captain or other people could not supply reliable information.
The Listing Survey of Duck Farms and Fishing Families was carried out during the period September to November 1968. Since there was an urgent request by the Commissioner of Fisheries for the estimation of the annual production at this lake, and ad-hoc survey form was added to the original listing forms and was completed during this survey.
The second stage of the Fishery Survey of Laguna de Bay, i.e. the Duck Feed and Fish Catch Survey, is a sample survey for estimating the monthly consumption of duck feed, especially of snails and shrimps, and the monthly fish catch around the lake. The sample design will be made after analysing carefully the list of duck farms and the list of fishing families which have already been prepared by the Listing Survey. The expert is considering a sample design as follows: about one fifth of all the duck farming and/or fishing barrios will be selected as sample barrios, after classifying all the barrios into several strata according to the number of duck farms and the number of fishing families in each barrio. In each sample barrio, one tenth of all the duck farms in the barrio and one tenth of the fishing families for each kind of fishing method will be selected as sample duck farms and sample fishing families. Enumerators will visit the sample barrios once a month and survey by interview the sample duck farms and sample fishing families to ascertain the duck feed consumption and catch on the previous day and some other information necessary for deriving estimates. The monthly consumption of duck feed and the monthly catch fishing method will then be estimated for each province. Biological samples will be brought to the Los Baños Limnological Station for biological analysis by the survey enumerators.
(8) Inland Fishery Survey
For inland waters (other than fishponds and big lakes) such as smaller lakes river, canals, swamps, reservoirs and paddy field, a simple survey may be sufficient because the production from these water areas is comparatively small. Besides the circumstances in different types of water under this category are quite different to each other so that a uniform sample design is difficult to apply to these fisheries.
A survey form for gathering the annual production data of these inland waters was drafted by the expert and was distributed by the Fishery Commission to all the Regional Directors in January 1969. The survey form is to be completed once a year for each province by the field staff of the Fisheries Regional Offices, relying on observations made during field trips made for other purposes.
It is expected that the first fisheries census in the Philippines will be undertaken in 1970 by the Census and Statistics Bureau. The 1970 Census of Fisheries is a part of the 1970 Censuses of Agriculture and Fisheries in which some of the census operations of both censuses are to be carried out concurrently. For example the listing of farming households will be undertaken by the same enumerators utilizing one listing form. The 1970 Censuses of Agriculture and Fisheries are in turn, one of two groups of censuses to be taken by the Bureau in the other comprising the 1970 Censuses of Population and Housing. The listing operation of the Censuses of Agriculture and Fisheries will start in the middle of February 1970, at the same time as the Population Census enumeration. The enumeration operation of the Census of Agriculture and Fisheries will start in the middle of April 1970. The decision of the Bureau to integrate the Fishery Census with the other 1970 Censuses was determined largely by the advice given by Dr. Yamamoto, FAO Regional Fisheries Statistician, during his visit to the Philippines in 1965.
When the expert and his counterpart visited the Bureau on the 2nd October 1967, the Director, Dr. Mijures, requested close cooperation between the expert and his counterpart and the officers of the Bureau concerned with the preparatory work for the 1970 Census of Fisheries. Shortly after, the Director asked the Commissioner of Fisheries for comments on the first draft of the fishery census questionaire which had been prepared by a sub-Committee of the Bureau dealing with the Census of Fisheries.
Upon the Commissioner's request, the expert's comments and proposal for revision were transmitted to the Bureau which resulted in the preparation of a second draft by that office. From that time, the expert and his counterpart visited the Bureau quite often to discuss the questionaire with the officers concerned. The discussions at the Bureau also covered the listing form and the instructions for the enumerators. A third draft of the questionaire was used for a small scale pre-test survey taken in a barrio (community) in Navotas Municipality in May 1968.
In July 1968, the expert proposed a fourth draft of the questionaire, preparing two separate questionaires one for the fishing estblishments and the other for the fishing households replacing earlier drafts which had proposed a single questionaire for both. A pilot survey in which the two questionaires were used was carried out in November 1968.
An outline of the Census design follows:
Classification of the survey objects
Fishing establishment
The fishing establishment is either
a fishing management unit using commercial fishing vessel (s) (fishing vessels of more than 3 tons gross) or
a management unit undertaking fishpond operations which actually managed fishing operations or a fishpond during the one year period ending December 31,1969.
Fishing household
The fishing household is a household in which any household member was engaged in fishing either in marine or inland waters during the one year period ending 31 December 1969.
Note:1 Definition of fishing… “Fishing” refers to catching, gathering and cultivation of fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic animals and plants in the sea or in inland waters.
Listing
Listing of fishing establishments
The lists of the fishing establishments (see 1(a) immediately above) are to be provided by the Fisheries Commission. The Commission keeps the licence records of commercial fishing vessels and government leased fishponds, and has prepared a list of privately-owned fishponds.1
Listing of fishing households
Lists of the fishing households will be constructed during the listing operation of the 1970 Censuses of Agriculture and Fisheries which will be carried out simultaneously with the enumeration of the 1970 Population Census.
Sampling
All the fishing establishments will be enumerated, while only one tenth of the fishing households listed will be enumerated as sample fishing households.
Questionaires
The Fishing Establishments Questionaire will be used for the fishing establishments, and the Fishing Household Questionaire will be used for the households.
Enumerators
The Fishing Establishment Questionaire will be sent by mail together with the instructions to operators of fishing establishments, who will be asked to complete the questionaire for collection by an enumerator, or for mailing by the operator to the appropriate Provincial Census Office.
1 See Section 3.2 Fishpond Fisheries. Area of Fishponds
The Fishing Household Questionaire will be filled up by enumerators who will visit the sample fishing households during the enumeration operation of the 1970 Censuses of Agriculture and Fisheries.
A full-dress pilot survey covering all the operations of all the four censuses is to take place one year immediately preceding the actual census operations and for this pupose, the expert and his counterpart participated in discussions at the Bureau for finalizing the questionaires, the listing form and the instructions to the enumerators.
Analyses of existing fishery statistics were made by the expert from time to time. Examples are the analysis of small production in Laguna de Bay, the analysis of landings by Manila Bay trawlers, and the analysis of landings in Lucena City. The results of the analyses were reported to the officers concerned.
A series of one-and-a half hour lectures on statistics was given to the statistical personnel by the expert over a period of two weeks in December 1966 at the Philippine Fisheries Commission.
The expert found that it was difficult to discuss sample survey techniques in great depth because most of the personnel had an insufficient statistical background. The instruction was therefore restricted in the main to on-the-job training which involved giving detailed instructions to staff before each survey started.
