Fishkill hits Anda anew
ANDA–Some 40 metric tons of bangus (milkfish) died in a new fishkill that broke out on October 11 at the Caquipotan Channel.
The fishkill, according to the Dagupan-based National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center (NIFTDC), was spawned by the occurrence of neap tide, which caused the water in the Caquipotan Channel, which separates the island town of Anda from Bolinao in mainland Pangasinan, to stagnate.
Director Westly Rosario, NIFTDC chief, explained that neap tide is a natural phenomenon influenced by the changing phase of the moon. This most recent occurrence was felt all over the country from October 7 to 11.
With the water at a standstill and the dissolved oxygen in the water reduced, fish in overstocked farms were forced to pop their head out of the water.
Rosario said the impact of this latest fishkill could be considered “mild” because fish farmers were forewarned as early as August 31 about the expected neap tide and managed to harvest some of their stock though still below marketable size.
The 40 metric tons lost is equivalent to the normal quantity in two fish cages.
Rosario said fish farmers who set up fish cages at the Caquipotan Channel were bound to suffer if neap tide occurs because of overstocking and overfeeding in a bid to make the fish grow faster, a practice deemed not only as irregular and risky but adds to the pollution of the water.
He warned of another neap tide occurring on October 20- 22.
He pointed out that aquaculture experts have time and again advised the farmers to adopt sustainable methods of fish culture but rejected these.
Rosario urged fish farmers to 1) Stop feeding their stocks a day before and during the neap tide period; 2) Harvest marketable size fish to minimize losses before the occurrence of neap tide. He said larger fishes are more susceptible to low DO.
He added that Monday’s fishkill did not happen in Anda alone that day as the BFAR’s fish produce like seabass in Dagupan City and ulang (freshwater prawns) in Barangay Ugaban, Sto. Tomas, La Union were also affected.
DAGUPAN MARKET
Dagupan City agriculturist Emma Molina confirmed that some of the fish from Anda were brought to the fish market in Dagupan, some 80 kilometers east of Anda, and were sold at a low P40 to 45 per kilo, or four to five pieces of bangus per kilo.
The Dagupan fish market is the main bangus trading center in the province.
Three fishkills have occurred over the last eight years in the province: 2002 in Bolinao with an estimated loss of P100 million; 2007 affecting Bolinao and Anda with P32.7 million estimated loss; June 2010 in Bolinao, Anda, Binmaley and Dagupan with P95.5 million estimated loss.
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