Gov. Vi leads dismantling of illegal fish cages

San Nicolas, Batangas – Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto led the dismantling of illegal fish cages along a passageway of the Pansipit River in Taal Lake which have been blamed for several fish kills in the area.

Aboard a motorized banca, Santos-Recto braved the heat as she, together with municipal officials, personnel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and authorized fish cage owners, tore down at least 20 of the 50 illegal fish cages in this town.

“With the cooperation of officials of towns surrounding the Taal Lake, I’m confident that the rehabilitation of the river will be a success,” Santos-Recto told The STAR, adding that the dismantling would be on staggered basis.

She said short, medium and long-term plans would be implemented for the livelihood of families operating the illegal fish cages.

“All families affected with the fish cage clean-up will be given priority for the livelihood program,” she said.

Recto said the dismantling will continue until July 31, and will resume after six months.

“We are here to take care of our Taal Lake and not to quarrel with the fisherfolk,” Santos-Recto said as she appealed for cooperation from the residents.

“It is about time (that we) join hands and put an end to the worsening water quality of our lake” she added.

In an earlier interview, Lea Villanueva, Aquaculture Center chief of the BFAR Inland Fisheries Research Station here, warned that fish kills loom in at least three Batangas towns, namely Laurel, Talisay and Agoncillo.

Fish kills usually take place during the rainy months when the level of hydrogen sulfide in the three towns is high, causing toxic gas emissions which in turn deplete the lake’s oxygen supply.

Villanueva said the over-construction of fish cages in the Pansipit River in this town hampers the flow of water from Taal Lake to Balayan Bay, thus causing the rapid growth of algae and planktons in the freshwater lake.

As of July 2000, there were 10,000 fish cages in the lake, according to a survey conducted by Simeona Aypa for the European Union-funded FISHTRAT Project and coordinated by the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development.

The yearlong study revealed that 25 major fish kills occur between March to August every year.

Researchers pointed out the presence of heavy loads of organic sediment, which they said contributed to oxygen depletion and raised levels of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and nitrite in the lake, contributing to the fish kills.

Villanueva also noted the large organic load from excessive feed and fish wastes from tilapia cages in the waters of Agoncillo, Leviste and Laurel towns.

Santos-Recto said the BFAR and the concerned municipalities saw the urgency of enforcing the Unified Rules and Regulations to rehabilitate Taal Lake.

The ordinance, approved by the Protected Areas Management Board (PAMB) on March 21, 2007, designates fish cage zones and sanctuary areas, limits the number of cages from 10,000 to 6,000, and enforces other rules on proper aquaculture management.

Recto said the ordinance has been pending for over a year now and the PAMB is waiting for the approval of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza so it could be enacted into law.

“I already had a meeting with Secretary Atienza and hopefully mapirmahan na nya ang (he would already sign the) Unified Rules and Regulations,” Santos-Recto said.

Taal Lake, which has a surface area of 24,356 square meters, is the country’s third largest lake next to Laguna de Bay and Lanao Lake.

It was declared a protected area in 1996 through the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act by virtue of Presidential Proclamation 906.