Who also gets stressed when it rains? The fish
NOT only humans are stressed when it rains incessantly but the fish, too.
Dr. Westly Rosario, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) center chief, said the stress to the fish is caused mainly by the sudden change of salinity because they could not easily adjust.
He said when they are at the sea, they could go down because there is high salinity.
“But bangus (milkfish) which is vastly produced in Pangasinan and the top product in this city, is okay because it is euryhaline, which means it can tolerate wide range of salinity,” Rosario said. “This also holds true for high-value fish seabass,” he added.
“But Malaga (siganid) and talaba (oyster) would die because it could not move when salinity gets lower,” Rosario said.
In contrast to humans who eat more when it rains, various species of fish have decreased appetite and lower growth rate, Rosario said.
“Fish eat less when it is cold. Their metabolism is low,” Rosario added.
“When it is cold, you have to slow down in feeding them to avoid wastage because they would not consume their feeds much so their growth rate is affected,” he added.
“Also, when it is cloudy, photosynthesis is weak. Therefore, the production of dissolved oxygen is also poor,” he said.
Rosario said during summer, growing period of fishes is shorter compared to cold/rainy months.
The rains also cause stress to fishes, for example, Malaga, when they are trapped and there is change of water salinity in fishpond or the water is silty which causes block in their gills, he said.
Meanwhile, Rosario said the price is dependent on the volume of fish available in the market. “If they are harvested and brought to the market at the same, then prices would not be profitable.” he added.—(Tita Roces)
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