Demolition of fish cages minimizes fish kill losses

DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines – The ongoing demolition of fishpens and fish cages in the province has significantly minimized the losses from the fish kill in Anda and Bolinao towns, a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) official said yesterday. 

But to recoup their losses, affected bangus (milkfish) raisers have brought their supply to Dagupan City, the hub of fish trading in Pangasinan, resulting in an oversupply with bangus being sold for P30-P50 per kilo.

Nestor Domenden, BFAR-Region 1, told The STAR that the losses could have been “tremendous” if not for the demolition of fish structures in the coastal waters of Bolinao and Anda towns, the continuous monitoring of water conditions, and the forced harvest done by some operators.

The BFAR has funded the demolition of the fishpens and fish cages, Domenden said.

Gov. Amado Espino Jr. created Task Force Kalikasan that coordinates with officials of coastal areas for the massive dismantling of fish structures to enable rivers and other bodies of water to “breathe again.”

Domenden said the fish kill has affected some 30-50 metric tons (MT) or 30,000-50,000 kilos of bangus in Anda town alone since Sunday and another 15-20 MT in Bolinao town since Monday. The affected areas are situated in the Cacquiputan Channel. 

The 65 MT lost to fish kill accounts for only .06 percent of the total annual aquaculture production of Region 1 and will not affect bangus supply, Domenden said. Losses in the two towns were estimated at P4 million.

Dr. Westly Rosario, BFAR center chief in Dagupan City, said yesterday’s water sampling showed that the dissolved oxygen (DO) level in the affected areas was 1.5 parts per million (ppm) and that “no bangus would survive with that level.”

Ideally, the DO level must be from 5 to 6 ppm for the fish to survive, he said.

Dagupan agriculturist Emma Molina said bangus raisers anticipated last week the effect of the heavy rain from the tail-end of typhoon “Chedeng” on their production, prompting them to harvest early.

Last week, the price of bangus dropped from P95 to P75 per kilo, and yesterday went to as low as P30 to P50 per kilo.