OVERSTOCKING, UNREGULATED PENS BLAMED

ANDA— Calamity struck the fishing industry when the intense summer heat and sudden intermittent rains in the afternoon took its toll on the bangus industry here.

Estimated loss due to the fish kill is about P86,111,689 worth of bangus stocks.

Elizabeth Tomas, municipal agriculturist, said Friday that the estimate was based on their partial assessment as of May 31 at 6:00 p.m. Fish kill was noted since Wednesday afternoon, she said.

She said the weather characterized by extreme heat and sudden abrupt rainfall was the culprit.

However, Westly Rosario, director of the National Fisheries Technology Development Center (NIFTDC) ruled out that the fish kill was due to neap tides, a period of the month when dissolved oxygen needed by the fish to live goes in short supply.

The neap tides already occurred from May 23 to 26, he said.

The affected areas are three barangays, namely, Awag, Mal-ong and Siapar along the Caquiputan Channel.

She said the nearby town of Bolinao was also hit by the fish kill.

Some bangus growers cut their losses by harvesting early, Tomas said.

Meanwhile, Rosario noted that Caquiputan Channel is again teeming with hundreds of fish cages and pens overstocked with fish that impede the flow of water to the sea.

A report said that there are about 700 fish cages and pens in the Anda side of the channel.

It is the responsibility of the local government unit and not the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to regulate fish structures in waterways, Rosario said.

Anda Mayor Aldrin Celdran said he is considering to declare a moratorium on bangus raising along the Caquiputan Channel for two to three years to allow the water to rest.

Rosario welcomed the mayor’s move because, he said, the main reason for the fish kill is the high concentration of hydrogen sulfide at the bottom of the water due to a heavy deposit of organic matters.

The organic matters are fish feeds not consumed by bangus and remain in the bottom of the water and cause pollution.

The rains may have caused the heavy deposit of hydrogen sulfide to surface and cause death to the fish in captivity.

He warned that what happened in Anda will likely happen in other coastal waters of the Lingayen Gulf if LGUs do not regulate the number of fish cages and remove fish pens in their areas.

The dead fishes were buried in Narra Island and in a vacant lot in Siapar.

Tomas said the damage can go higher as their team is still going around monitoring their bangus production areas. Tomas said 60 percent is unaffected.

Last week’s phenomenon was reminiscent of the devastating fish kills in the Caquiputan Channel in 2007 and 2011. (Leonardo Micua/Eva Visperas)

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