The Dagupan City government is not one to be taken seriously.

This appears to be the sentiment among the illegal fish pen owners who were repeatedly warned to tear down their contraptions in the past because their pens remain untouched.

But the good news is they stopped stocking their pens with fingerlings.

City Agriculture Officer Emma Molina admitted that not a single illegal fish has been demolished despite her repeated warnings that the city would demolish these if the owners fail to voluntarily remove them after the deadline set late last year.
 

While Molina was quick to interpret the momentary desistance on the part of the illegal fish owners from filling the pens with new fingerlings as a “form of  self-regulation”, she conceded that weather conditions could still be the factor for their  not stocking their pens since the rivers are hot and the water is almost stagnant.

Nonetheless, she said water condition in all the rivers in Dagupan is still within the standard as far as dissolved oxygen is concerned.

Reports also indicate that many fish pen owners are now reluctant to pursue the business because of the rising cost of feeds and fingerlings.

Molina, however, was silent on whether she will make good her earlier threat to demolish the illegal fish pens whose owners ignored her.

She warned that a neap tide, known as “ala-al” in Pangasinan, is expected to occur in the city three days before the end of April which could mean slow movement of the water.

A fish kill could happen during neap tide unless the bangus raisers take immediate measures to control feeding or undertake early harvest.—LM

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