THE Baguio City Environment and Parks Management Office (Cepmo) is considering fishing activities around the Burnham Lake due to the abundance of fishes within the lagoon.
Cepmo head Cordelia Lacsamana explained the need to consider the activity to manage the population of the fishes and prevent any unnecessary negative effects to the fish population.
“Various fishes have thrived within the Burnham Lake and we are thinking of the idea of opening the lake for leisure fishing based on an old provision allowing fishing with a P10 permit fee,” Lacsamana said.
In 2013, the local government of Baguio initiated dredging of Burnham Lake amounting to P20.9 million which intended to correct flaws in the city’s American-built drainage network for the lake to no longer serve as a discharge area for downtown’s runoff rainwater.
The repairs of the lake included the plugging of all drain pipes that spill out rainwater into the lake after workers began draining 17-million liters of lake water in 2013 while backhoes dug a meter of silt from the lake last dredged in 1994 and was filled with 34 million liters of water.
“We are thinking of this measure to prevent the possibility of experiencing a fish kill in the lake. Lots of tilapia fishes have thrived in the lake and if ever we allow fishing activities at the lake, this will be an exciting event,” adds Lacsamana.
Aside from tilapia, the lake is also home to several Japanese Koi.