MANILA, Philippines — Overstocking of fish in cages caused the fish kill in Taal and Pangasinan.
This was the gist of the report made by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) on the loss of 700 metric tons (MT) of tilapia in Taal and between 50 MT and 70 MT of milkfish in Bolinao and Anda towns of Pangasinan.
Newly appointed BFAR national director Asis Perez said consumers should not really worry about the scarcity of fish in the National Capital Region (NCR), saying the lost fish account for only 0.015 percent to the total production, which is 5.6 million MT.
Perez said fish kill can have natural or man-made causes, with reduced oxygen that snuffs out fish due to factors like drought, algal bloom, overpopulation or a sustained increase in water temperature and pollution.
In the case of Taal Lake, which also hosts the rumbling Taal Volcano, a natural phenomenon known as water overturn or upwelling occurs as a result of weather or climate changes – from long dry spells to sudden strong rains, among others.
The lack of dissolved oxygen in the water due to natural upwelling complicated the situation in the lake.
Perez said violations of BFAR’s prescribed Code of Practice for Aquaculture and local government ordinances on proper fish cage management also contributed significantly to the fish kill in Taal Lake.
“It was found out that some fish cages had been overstocked and the depth of the fish cage increased from the prescribed 5 meters to 15 meters. These wrong practices exacerbated the fish kills,” the BFAR chief said.
The fish kill in the coastal waters of Bolinao and Anda is due to man-made causes, particularly improper fish cage management and overcrowding of fish in the cages, Perez added.
“For closed water system such as lakes, the prescribed stocking density is 20 fish/cubic meter. For open waters, stocking density could go up to 30 fish per cubic meter or more depending on water circulation among others,” he said.
The farm gate price of fish in affected areas dipped by nearly 50 percent.
Perez said fish cage operators have been told to harvest their fish quickly and bring their fish to nearby fish ports. BFAR will shoulder the cost of cold storage.
The bureau will also provide fish fry and/or fingerlings to affected fish farmers, especially the marginalized ones. A set of criteria has been set out to determine who would be qualified for the assistance.
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