DA urged to extend speedy help to fishermen affected by fishkill

MANILA, Philippines - The Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Philippines (AGAP) has appealed to the Department of Agriculture (DA) to extend speedy help to owners of small fish cages affected by the fishkill in Batangas and Pangasinan recently.

In a press conference in Manila, AGAP Rep. Nicanor Briones said two groups — Taal Lake Aquaculture Alliance and Feed Millers Association – affected by the fishkill urgently need help to save their livelihood.

“We appeal to the DA to act on fisherfolk’s problem to enable them to recover from losses in their livelihood,” Briones said.

He also asked the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to conduct a feasibility study to avoid the same incident to happen again in the future.

The congressman also appealed to the public to continue buying milkfish (bangus) and tilapia that are not affected by fishkill.

 “They are safe to eat just be sure that they are fresh,” the AGAP representative said.

“The saddest part of it is only a small portion of the industry was hit by the fishkill and yet almost all fishermen were affected because nobody wants to buy fish anymore, and the prices of fish have tremendously dropped in the market” he said.

Tons of fishes worth millions of pesos died due to sudden drop of temperature that lowered oxygen level in Taal Lake recently.

The fishkill was the worst climate change disaster to hit Batangas, said Rosario del Mundo of the BFAR office in the province.