ANDA, Pangasinan — Some 172 fish pens and cages in this town, and 67 more in Bolinao town, were hit by fish kills, incurring PHP107 million in losses.
Anda municipal agriculture office head Elizabeth Tomas, in an interview on Friday, said her office has already noted PHP83 million in initial losses from fish kills in some fish cages and pens located in Barangay Mal-ong, Awag and Siapar here. Anda has 500 to 650 fish pens and cages.
“The fish kill was caused by the high temperature during the day and then the sudden rain in the afternoon. This change in temperature decreased the dissolved oxygen in the water, resulting in fish kill,” Tomas said.
She disclosed that water pollution was another factor, but clarified that Anda’s pens and cages are not overcrowded.
“The fish cages and pens’ owners and caretakers have minimal stocking during summer season, between 30,000 and 40,000, compared to the regular 50,000 to 60,000,” she added.
The affected pens and cages contain various sizes of milkfish and some are still juvenile and were not harvestable, said Tomas.
Meanwhile in Bolinao, parts of Barangay Luna, Colang and Luciente II have also suffered from fish kill.
Florante Garcia, aquaculture technician of Bolinao’s municipal agriculture office, in a separate interview Friday, confirmed that 67 out of 250 fish cages in the three barangays have been affected, incurring losses worth PHP24 million.
“The damage was minimal, as we were able to immediately harvest some of the fish in the affected area,” he said.
Garcia added that the price of milkfish in Bolinao has already dropped to PHP30 per kg.
Chief of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources – National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center, Director Westly Rosario, said a fish kill happens when dissolved oxygen levels go down mainly due to sudden change in temperature.
Rosario, however, noted that the high level of hydrogen sulfide and waste chemicals that settle at the bottom of fish cages, can also affect the water’s oxygen level.
“Hydrogen sulfide and more wastes settle in the waters below, about 30 cm. thick, signaling a severely polluted environment,” he said.
Anda and Bolinao have already experienced a massive fish kill in 2010, allegedly caused by the polluted water in the Caquiputan channel, where the two towns breed their aquaculture industry.
Anda Mayor Aldrin Cerdan suggested the suspension of operation of fish cages in the town to enable the body of water to recover.
In 2011, Governor Amado Espino Jr. and a member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan recommended the demolition of structures in the Caquiputan channel to allow the water to rest from pollution.
Tomas acknowledged that after several years, there are still some illegal structures in the area, but attributed the latest fish kill to weather temperature.
She also assured the public that the dead milkfish were buried as part of proper disposal. (Hilda Austria and Ahikam Pasion/PNA)
