MBTF orders review of proposed ordinance

By March 23, 2015Headlines, News

REGULATING FISH CAGES

MAYOR Belen T. Fernandez wants a proposed ordinance seeking to allow limited operation of fish cages in the city’s rivers reviewed to prevent possible abuse by cage and pen operators.

Fernandez announced her decision during the flag raising ceremony at the city plaza on Monday.

Before the city employees, she said that after the city dismantled more than 1,800 fish pens with an average size of 800 square meters per fish pen under her environmental program “Sa Ilog Ko, May Pagbabago,” she is not taking any chances to allow unscrupulous businessmen to exploit the city’s resources and pollute the rivers.

“After touring the river on March 15, I asked City Agriculturist Emma Molina to go over our proposed ordinance on fish cage operation once more so that we can incorporate more precautionary measures to avoid possible abuse on the operation of fish cages,” Fernandez said.

She disclosed that the rivers are already clean except for two or three more fish pens whose owners were warned to immediately dismantle their structures.  The mayor promised to further improve the present state of the city’s rivers.

Fernandez was dismayed to note that two or three persons still managed to surreptitiously put up illegal structures in the river during the time when the Bantay Ilog’s motorboats broke down and monitoring was suspended.

Molina confirmed that her office verified that there are some small fish cages in the rivers that appear like fish pens because they are positioned next to each other. “There are isolated fish pens that we saw, about two or three of them but we have already given them warning and we will continue to monitor them until their structures are totally dismantled.”

Molina is referring to the 48 square meter fish pen being operated by a certain Marcus Gonzales.

Gonzales was given until the end of March to harvest his milkfish and to voluntarily dismantle his structure after. (CIO)

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