Guv wants 'no fishpen policy' implemented

Sunday, June 12, 2011

LINGAYEN – Pangasinan Governor Amado Espino Jr. recommends the immediate implementation of the “No Fishpen Policy” in raising bangus and other fishes.

Espino announced his recommendation during the consultation dialogue with aquaculture stakeholders recently.

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He asked the local chief executives, the investors and other fish farmers to reduce fish farming activities in the meantime to let the waters have “breathing time.”

He also recommended the dismantling of the fishpens at the Caquiputan channel and at areas where mariculture is not allowed; clear navigational lanes and for the strict use of fish cages only.

He also asked Bolinao Mayor Alfonso Celeste and Anda Mayor Aldrin Cerdan to sit down, discuss and establish zones where fish cages will be allowed.

Espino clarified that he is not against the aquaculture industry. In fact, he is supportive of it as agriculture and fishery are the industries that the province could really rely.

However, these marine resources have to be protected and rehabilitated. He added that other people also have the right to a clean river and clean environment.

“The occurrence of fish kill is a serious matter that deserves serious attention,” the governor said. He stressed that since Pangasinan accounts for at least 45 percent of the total fish landings in the Navotas fish market, the local fish farming industry affects not only the local food supply, but also the food supply in Metro Manila.

Espino said he encourages mariculture in the province “but we must have to obey regulations with considerations about our ecology, environment, tourism, viability and sustainability.”

Also present during the consultation dialogue were Celeste and Cerdan (who presented reports on what happened at their respective areas and the actions being undertaken by their respective local governments to address the problem).

Technical and scientific findings and recommendations were presented by Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Ilocos Region Director Nestor Domenden, Dr. Wesley Rosario (director of the BFAR-National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center based in Dagupan City) and Dr. Malou McGlone, director of UP-Marine Science Institute.

Also present were representatives of Sual Mayor John Rodney Arcinue, fishpen owners, and from the Pangasinan Police Provincial Office.

“All that is really needed is strict implementation of the municipal ordinances,” he said.

In looking for long term solutions, Espino proposed basic objectives such as learning how to adapt to climate change, commit to exercise restraint and limit our fish farming activities at sustainable levels, lay down basic policies, rules and regulations to be followed and strictly enforced and define responsibilities and agree to work closely together.

Provincial Administrator Rafael Baraan said if clean water is attained, there will be continuous fish production.

“We will be able to produce quality fish from Pangasinan and achieve a higher marketability of our fish product and at the same time have an ecologically balanced environment,” Baraan said.

Meanwhile, Espino said based on the data gathered by the Provincial Agriculturist’s Office, there are at least 1,400 fishpens and fish cages occupying the communal sea waters in Bolinao, Anda, Sual and Alaminos. These fishpens and cages produce an average of 18 metric ton per unit worth P1.53 million per crop.

He further said aside from the fish consignees, vendors, and ordinary laborers involved in the marketing of fish, there are almost 6,000 families that are directly involved in and depend on fish farming for their livelihood.

Based on the preliminary investigations, the causes of the fish kill are as follows:

* the actual number of fish cages exceeded the minimal number of allowed in the designated zones;
* prescribed distancing between structures were violated;
* some units were constructed outside the designated zones;
* overstocking beyond prescribed stocking densities by as much as 200 percent;
* excessive feeding leading to degradation of water quality due to unabated settlement of excess feed sediments on the sea/river bed;
* improper waste disposal within the production area; and
* varying sizes of fish pens, contrary to existing local ordinances.