Fishermen declare war vs 'nuisance' janitor fish

Fishermen have “declared war" against a “nuisance" nocturnal fish species with a sucker-like mouth, said to be causing the degradation of Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the Philippines and the second largest inland freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. Fishermen from Laguna and Rizal provinces, and Taguig City on Tuesday trooped to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources along Visayas Avenue in Quezon City where they dumped 300 kilograms of the dreaded janitor fish. “The janitor fish now consist of 75 percent of the daily fish catch of small fishermen. It means that this fish is fast becoming the dominant fish specie in the lake. If the government won’t do anything to reverse this trend, then the time will come that we won’t catch any tilapia (species of cichlid fishes from the tilapiine cichlid tribe), or any kind of fish other than the janitor fish," said Bonifacio Federizo, president of Mamamayan para sa Pagpapaunlad at Pagpapanatili ng Lawa ng Laguna or Mapagpala. Mapagpala is an alliance of fisherfolk organizations from 29 municipalities and cities around the Laguna de Bay. The group said scientists from the Department of Science and Technology published studies stating that the problem caused by janitor fish in the lake has already turned into an environmental disaster. According to a 2005 article by Dr. Rafael D. Guerrero III, executive director of the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development, “studies indicate that the janitor fish has also become invasive in other countries." Guerroro III cited a study by Dr Jonathan Armbruster, curator of fishes at Auburn University in the US, that the Pterygoplichthys species of the janitor fish have become established in tropical and semi-tropical regions of North America , Puerto Rico , Malaysia and Indonesia. “This South American aquarium catfish introduced in the country possibly by hobbyists has escaped into local freshwaters," said Guerrero III. He said the Laguna Lake Development Authority implemented a World Bank-funded project to reduce the population of janitor fish in Laguna de Bay by paying fisherfolk P10 per kilogram of the fish, which is converted into fishmeal for pig feed by a cooperative in Siniloan Laguna. Still, Mapagpala blamed the government “for its neglect of the lake," saying that it cannot not just put the blame on the people’s domestic waste for the lake’s destruction. Federizo also said “government agencies do nothing to curtail the use of the lake by destructive industries." He said the lake is being used by the fishpen industry, and other industrial and commercial establishments, like power plants that discharge their wastes to the 21 rivers around the lake. “The fishpen industry now encroaches on 20,000 hectares of the lake's surface. This is more than 12,000 hectares of supposed limit for the industry at 8,000 hectares according to the Mt Makiling Commission," Federizo said. - GMANews.TV