Fish cages near Sual power plant illegal

MANILA, Philippines - All of the new fish cages that mushroomed near the 1,200-megawatt power plant in Sual, Pangasinan were illegally built.

This was the consensus that arose during a multi-sectoral dialogue organized by the provincial government in a bid to thresh out and resolve the contentious fish cage issue.

Environment Management Bureau (EMB) regional director Joel Salvador said his office issued in July last year an environmental clearance certificate (ECC) for a 10-hectare mariculture zone in Cabalitian Bay that can accommodate only 50 fish cages.

Since then, no ECC has been issued to any fishery project in the area, Salvador said.

Nestor Domenden, regional director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, disclosed that from about 400 fish cages last year, the number had ballooned to 778 as of July this year.

“The EMB can issue cease-and-desist orders on the illegal structures, but we are not that harsh. We have to follow due process,” he said.

Violators of the ECC law may be fined P50,000 per structure, he added.

For his part, Sual Mayor Roberto Arcinue said he would try to secure ECCs for the new fish cages. He admitted though that many of the fish cages do not have business permits.

Arcinue said he would go after the owners and operators of the illegal fish cages, especially those without business permits.