Many fishermen in Dagupan City have stayed ashore for nearly two weeks as rough weather and poor fish catch make it unprofitable to go out to sea.

Fishing boats remained docked in Barangay Bonuan Gueset on Thursday, with fishermen saying strong winds in recent days and low fish catch have forced them to suspend fishing operations.

Some said going out to sea would only lead to losses.

“'Yung iba hindi na talaga lumaot, kasi malakas ang hangin. Talagang hindi na kami lalaot, wala ring isda,” Jun-Jun Meneses, one of the fishermen, said.

With fishing temporarily halted, some fishermen have taken construction jobs and other temporary work to support their families.

“Minsan talaga maghahanap ka na ng trabaho kasi wala talaga. Kaya kami, iba na lang muna ang papasukan para kumita pa rin,” Rendo Belbis, another fisherman, said.

PAGASA said there is currently no gale warning over the coastal waters of the Lingayen Gulf.

However, PAGASA Dagupan chief meteorological officer Engr. Jose Estrada Jr. said the strong winds experienced in recent days were caused by the interaction of the easterlies and the southwest monsoon.

“Kalmado naman pero noong mga nakaraang araw, malakas ang hangin. 'Yan ang epekto ng pagtulak ng easterly, tinutulak ang habagat. 'Yun ang epekto no'n,” he said.

Despite the temporary suspension of fishing activities, authorities said they are not seeing any problems with fish supply in local markets.