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DA exec: Overstocking led to Batangas fish kill


Overstocking may have led to the massive fish kill in Batangas province, affecting nine towns around Taal Lake, an official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Wednesday. At the Senate committee hearing Wednesday, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Salvador Salacup said the ideal size for fish cages is 10 by 10 meters with a depth of six meters, but some cages are 15 meters deep. Fingerlings should be from 30,000 to 50,000 per cage, but some cages have 100,000. "We had a dialogue in Talisay town, the mayor was there, including representatives of concerned government agencies. Ang sinasabi nga sa report, hindi nasusunod ang guidelines... These are man-made causes for the problems," Salacup said.
The Senate Committee on Agriculture headed by Sen. Francis Pangilinan, together with representatives from the DA, began the inquiry on the cause of last week's massive fish kill. Talisay was the most affected town, with 895 metric tons of fish affected. The damage is at 2,056 metric tons. "Nagsimula ito noong May 27 hanggang June 6, at ang kabuuang fish cages ay 231. Ang amount ng damage P144 million," said Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Calabarzon (Region IV-A) regional director Nilo Tamoria, who was also at the Senate hearing. Also, some areas in Pangasinan province were hit by the fish kill, with losses estimated by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council at P40.71 million. With the P150 million loss in Region IV-A, the total cost of the fish kill incidents hit P190.71 million as of last Monday. In Bolinao, Pangasinan, the damage is at 39 metric tons of bangus and tilapia, Salacup said. Likewise, he said, there are more cages than what is allowed in Anda, Pangasinan, where fish kill incidents in occurred 2002 and 2004. "The lack of dissolved oxygen could have been avoided if fish cage operators followed our recommendation [not to place too many cages in the area]," said Atty. Benjamin Tabios Jr., Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Assistant Director for Administrative Services. "Mayroon nang natuto sa mga nangyari sa fish kill noon," said Tabios. He said there are four factors in fish kill: Oxygen depletion, pollutant toxin, natural toxins and disease from bacteria. According to him, only 0.6 percent of fish production in the country comes from Batangas. But Senator Pangilinan noted that everyone is affected, saying "ang sakit ng kalingkingan ay dama ng buong katawan." — Carmela Lapeña/LBG, GMA News

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