BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines – With three fish species identified to be endangered, another fish species is now the focus of preservation efforts by the government to prevent them from suffering the same fate, too.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said it is negotiating with Taiwanese fishery experts to ensure the preservation of the flying fish (Exocoetidae) through special research.
Dr. Jovita Ayson, BFAR regional director, said the Taiwanese experts are interested in studying the flying fish since the species comes from Taiwan and spawns in the country.
Flying fish, caught in the country’s northern waters, are salted and sold in the region at P400 to 450 per kilo.
Quoting the World Wildlife Fund, Ayson said waters around Cagayan Valley, particularly the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and Batanes province, the Balintang Channel between Batanes and the Babuyan group of islands in Cagayan, and the Babuyan Channel are spawning grounds of the flying fish.
Flying fish live particularly in tropical and warm subtropical waters. Their most striking feature is their pectoral fins, which are unusually large and enable them to hide and escape from predators by leaping out of the water.
Earlier, three eel species in Cagayan Valley belonging to the genus Anguilla, namely Anguilla marmorata, Anguilla pacifica and Anguilla celebenensis, have been identified by BFAR as nearing extinction. This is in addition to the endangered ludong, the country’s most expensive fish.
Another eel species, Anguilla japonica, BFAR said, has not been monitored for quite some time in the region’s rivers, raising the possibility that they are already extinct.
According to an initial study, the ludong, which used to thrive in rivers in northern Isabela up to the mouth of the Cagayan River, was in danger of becoming totally extinct if no drastic measures to save it are conducted.