FISHKILL remains a big threat to the fish industry in the province unless local government units contain the continued unsustainable fish-raising methods of farmers and the uncontrolled proliferation of fish pens.

This was the assessment of the National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center (NIFTDC) after successfully correcting the cause of the fishkill in Bolinao.

Last week, fishkill, the third in a span of 10 years, affected Bolinao, Binmaley and Dagupan.

Bolinao registered the biggest loss estimated at P50 million worth of bangus while those in Binmaley and Dagupan remained minimal.

The onslaught of the fishkill in Bolinao is deemed ended with the normalization of the dissolved oxygen (D.O) in the water of Caquipotan Channel but Regino Regpala, a chemist at NIFTDC, said it may recur anytime.

Speaking before the KBP forum on Thursday, Regpala said the D.O level of the water along the channel is already much higher.

The standard D.O. level is 5 parts per million.  During the fishkill, it stood at only between 2.1 to 2.5 p.m.

Regpala said the low D.O level along the Caquipotan Channel that time was aggravated by the occurrence of neap tide, which means there was minimal tidal fluctuation, making the water almost stagnant.

BAD MANAGEMENT

Visiting Caquipotan Channel aboard a speedboat from Dagupan to Anda, together with NIFTDC chief Dr. Westly Rosario last week, Regpala noted poor fish management practices among fish farmers in the area.

He said the fish farmers were overstocking their cages and throwing large amounts of feeds.

Feeds that are not consumed by the fish settle down at the bottom of rivers, rot and pollute the water.

If the pollutants are not washed out to the sea by tidal water, it could spawn fishkill

Furthermore, the Caquipotan Channel is already teeming with fish cages reportedly owned by affluent and influential businessmen.

The local governments of Anda and Bolinao are supposed to be regulating fish cages in the area but the latest developments show failure of enforcement in the channel and its tributaries.

Regpala also identified salinity as another factor that causes the fishkill particularly during the rainy season.

Many fish have been reported to have died due to the “temperature shock”.

RED TIDE OVER

Meanwhile, Regpala announced that the red tided bulletin in Bani, Anda and Bolinao has already been lifted as of June30.

This means that is now safe to eat mussels, oysters and other shellfish coming from western Pangasinan–LM

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