Marine sub-sector
The marine capture fisheries are further sub-divided into coastal fisheries and the offshore sub-sector. Production from the marine capture fisheries was estimated to be 1 381 423 tonnes in 2007. The contribution from the coastal fisheries has remained fairly static lately at around 1.0 million tonnes. It is generally well accepted that the coastal fishery resources have been fully exploited. There is possibly some extent of overfishing. Over the years the Department of Fisheries (DOF) has tried various measures in an attempt to reduce the coastal fishing effort.
Further expansion of capture fisheries would need to come from the offshore sub-sector, namely the South China Sea. It has been estimated that the potential yield from the offshore areas is slightly over 400 000 tonnes. Given the present level of landings, the scope for an increase in landings is quite limited.