Former Agriculture Secretary William Dar on Saturday proposed the creation of a Department of Fisheries that will be independent of the Department of Agriculture to give more attention to and support for the sustainable development of the country's fisheries and aquatic resources. In his presentation during the Policy Summit on the Future of Fisheries at Green Sun Hotel in Makati City, Dar said for the past five years, the fisheries sector recorded negative growth -- -0.15 percent in 2014, -1.96 percent in 2015, -4.18 percent in 2016, -1.73 percent in 2017, and -1.13 percent in 2018 despite having 220 million hectares of territorial waters including the exclusive economic zone, 750,000 hectares of inland waters (lakes, rivers, reservoirs), and a coastline of 17,460 kilometers. The Philippines is considered a highly-biodiversed country being at the center of the Coral Triangle, which has now been recognized as the global center for marine biodiversity.

Ex-agri chief calls for creation of Department of Fisheries. (2019, May 1). Panay News, pp. B3, B6.