The Taal fishkill: Realizations and recommendations

(Second of two parts)

Lack of importance given to “small” fishermen. In Lake Taal, it is not the big businesses that are affected most by fishkills of this magnitude, since they have capital coming from their other businesses to support them. Based on interviews with locals for my dissertation research, large-scale owners of fish cages include foreign nationals with local partners. They have their way of going around the law. It is the small fisherfolk, the open water fishermen who catch tawilis, maliputo, biya and various other commercially important flora and fauna in the lake, who are affected by this. They are the ones who will suffer due to the decline in fish catch resulting from the poor water quality. The local fish vendors and middlemen who make money by buying the catch of local fishermen will also be affected. These would then lead to economic ramifications, which will be felt most by our less-fortunate countrymen.

Lack of importance given to biodiversity. A decline in biodiversity brought about by the poor water quality is the result of the by-products of aquaculture. Cultured species such as tilapia are actually introduced species that have been competing with native ones for space and resources. In developed countries, aquaculture using cages and pens is not done in lakes. Aquaculture in artificial ponds and tanks which does not in any way alter the productivity of the system is usually practiced in these areas. In lakes, they have focused on stocking native species which are in turn fished by local fishermen. This way, their livelihoods are not affected by the absence of aquaculture. The focus of these governments then shifted to technologies to improve the breed of native species and enhance the capability of local fishermen through technology (use of hydroacoustics and GPS). In one of our studies on the impacts of aquaculture on the zooplankton (small animals in the water column that serve as food for many fish species) of Lake Taal, we found out that the impacts of aquaculture on the zooplankton community (and water quality) is lake-wide, meaning that in spite of cages being located mostly in the north basin (Talisay, Laurel, Agoncillo and San Nicolas), zooplankton in other fish cage-free areas of the lake respond similarly to the increased nutrient inputs. No wonder the entire lake is affected by a fishkill of this magnitude. Government should consider declaring a closed season for fish cages to help improve water quality, or remove aquaculture altogether and replace it with stocking of native fish species instead. This may save Lake Taal from suffering from poor water quality and also save Taal biodiversity.

The lake is considered a gem among Philippine lakes due to its unique geology and volcanic history, which has led to the evolution of endemic species (most famous of which are the freshwater sardinella - Sardinella tawilis - and the Taal “sea” snake - Hydrophis semperi) which may be considered as national “biological” treasures. Destroying the lake would affect these organisms since they are only found in Lake Taal. Other species may also be waiting there to be discovered. We have already done a lot of damage to our forests which has led to the decline in the populations of endemic species of eagle, tarsier, tamaraw, wild pig and deer. Let us prevent the same from happening to the flora and fauna of Lake Taal.

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Dr. Rey Donne Papa (assistant professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Santo Tomas) is a limnologist who specializes in freshwater zooplankton ecology and systematics. He has conducted many researches in Lake Taal and has published in both national and international peer-reviewed journals. He was a recipient of the Tonolli Fund Postgraduate Fellowship in Limnology (International Society of Limnology) and was a DAAD Research Fellow at the Limnological Institute of the University of Konstanz, Germany. He finished his B.S., M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Santo Tomas. He can be reached at [email protected].