Wednesday, April 23, 2008 Global warming only 1 factor of worsening fish industry: Bfar
BUREAU of Fish and Aquatic Resources-Negros (Bfar Negros) officer-in-charge Carlito Delfin does not negate the ill effects of global warming as a meteorological killer of fish in Philippine waters but admitted its effect cannot be quantified at the moment.
By scientific method therefore, the global warming phenomenon as explained by environment groups and non-government organizations (NGOs) and attributed to massive death of fish, is still in the "hypothetical" stage, Delfin said.
A "hypothesis" is a statement that needs further study and experimentation for it to become an objective "theory." A theory, while undergoing reliability and validity test, can be questioned.
This belief is shared by Bacolod-based biology scientist Nathan Luther, whose point is that the scientific community worldwide cannot agree yet on what scientific indicators they must apply in measuring heat levels so that fixed conclusions could be made as to the geographical effects of global warming.
Luther, in an earlier Sun.Star Bacolod interview, explained that evidently, heat levels in the tropical zone is far different than that of the temperate zone, meaning heat in Asia is different than that of Africa.
"So how can we be sure mathematically that typhoons, El Niño, La Niña and fish kills, among others, are caused by global warming when there is no internationally-accepted measurement yet?" Luther asked.
Delfin said: "What we can be very sure of is that people, due to their irresponsibility or sheer lack of education, is the number one cause of declining productivity of the Philippine seawater."
"The latest report of fish kills or massive fish death was in Laguna and global warming may just be a part of it. It was more of the lake's 'carrying capacity' where fish population cannot be contained by the resources of the water body. Over feeding and over stocking was also the reason. Perhaps, also global warming but BFAR cannot be sure for now," Delfin said.
Delfin cited 2003 Bfar studies, which showed that the average catch of a fisherman using a hook and line was 40 kilos a day. "Today, the same method would yield 2.5 kilos more or less."
And this could be even lesser as the fishing communities seldom use hook and line by the shoreline for commercial fishing (anymore), he added.
The Bfar studies also cited poor implementation of coastal management laws or no implementation at all, prompting Delfin to stress that since fishery has been devolved to the local government units (LGUs), it is now up to them to prioritize its sustainability. (Gil Alfredo Severino)
