Latest Batangas fish kill hits 600 kgs of bangus, tilapia

In the latest wave of fish kill to hit Batangas, some 600 kilograms of fish went belly up Friday due to low levels of oxygen in the waters of Taal Lake. Lawyer Asis Perez, director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, said the fish that were killed included 500 kgs of bangus (milk fish) and 100 kgs of tilapia. On Thursday, 1.8 tons of milk fish were killed in Barangay Leviste in Laurel town, according to the bureau. Meanwhile, more than two tons of tilapia had been killed mostly in 24 fishpens in the same barangay since Tuesday. Perez said the level of dissolved oxygen or oxygen beneath the portion of Taal lake in Laurel and Agoncillo ranged between1.64 to 2.73 parts per million (ppm) as of 5 p.m. Friday. The ideal level of oxygen should be at least 6 ppm for bangus to grow, he added. The lowest level of oxygen between 0.96 and 1.86 ppm was recorded in Agoncillo town on Wednesday. The oxygen level in the town has since risen to between 1.64 and 4.32, but still way below the ideal level. Meanwhile, the oxygen level in several barangays in Talisay town has been gradually increasing in the last four days, but still a little below 6 ppm. Authorities earlier said the recent incidents of fish kills in Batangas and Pangasinan could have been due to the ballooning fish population in the two provinces because of the excessive numbers of fish cages being set up there. Only 6,000 fish cages are allowed to operate at the Taal Lake aquaculture zones. As of Friday, Perez said fish owners in Batangas — mostly from Laurel town — dismantled around 405 fish cages at the lake. BFAR authorities meanwhile are still studying the possibility that naturally-occurring organic decomposition in the lake’s bottom could be contributing to the lake water quality. The bureau has established 14 stations in Talisay, Laurel and Agoncillo where water samples are taken for analyses of various chemical parameters, including dissolved oxygen. — Mark Merueñas/VS, GMA News