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Thursday, April 21, 2005
Dirty water may have caused fishkill: expert
By Ben O. Tesiorna
DAVAO CITY -- Poor management of the pond caused the death of at least 30,000 kilos of hito fingerlings a few weeks ago in Los Amigos, Tugbok district, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Bfar) reported Wednesday.
Aqua-culturist Marlo Tabbu said results of the analysis on the water samples taken from the affected fishpond showed that owners may not have taken good care of it.
"It's the undesirable environment in the pond that caused the fishkill," Tabbu told reporters.
The water analysis result is contained in a report released by Bfar during Wednesday's press conference at the office of the Philippine Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) in Davao City.
The report discounted fishpond owners' claims the fishkill was caused by chemicals from plantations.
In the report, Bfar experts observed low level of dissolved oxygen in the water sample, and the pH level is below the desirable range for fish production, presence of nitrite is observed as well as the presence of hydrogen sulfide.
Tabbu said he observed several lapses in the management of the ponds owned by Dr. Greg Domingo in Km. 20, Los Amigos during his visit there on April 12.
"The drainage pipes used are small and this might cause ammonia build-up in the pond pag di masyado maganda ang drainage system," he said.
Bfar recommended "optimum stocking, feeding, fertilization and keeping the ponds well oxygenated" to reduce the build-up of nitrites in the pond.
They also recommended to pond owners to avoid overfeeding since uneaten feeds cause the release of hydrogen sulfide when decomposing at the pond bottom.
The Bfar also analyzed the killed hitos, but the result did not really confirm the cause of death. Tabbu said only a medical examination on the affected hito would determine this.
Samples of the dead hito were already sent to the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDC) for analysis.
Tabbu said it would however take at least two weeks for the result to come out.
Asked if the Bfar result was enough to clear the involvement of banana plantations in the reported fishkill, Tabbu admitted he could not say definitely but added the analysis indicates lapses in pond management rather than pesticide poisoning as the cause.
PBGEA technical committee chair Dr. Anacleto Pedrosa Jr. said reports that chemicals from plantations caused the fishkill placed the banana industry in a bad light especially before their buyers abroad.
"The claim is premature and not based on evidence and proof. For us, it's causing a bad image to the banana industry. We sympathize with the hito growers but they should not make the banana industry a scapegoat," Pedrosa earler said.
Agriculturist Rocelio Tabay said last Monday the reported fishkill in Los Amigos, Tugbok district was an isolated case.
"The investigation showed only the pond owned by Dr. (Greg) Domingo experienced a massive fishkill that's why we considered it as an isolated case. Ang mga katabing ponds wala namang fishkill na nangyari," Tabay said.
Tabay said councilman Simeon Alejaga, who also owns a pond just about 20 meters away from Domingo's, was not aware of the reported fishkill until he saw it on television.
Tabay also said the water source of the ponds in Los Amigos, including Domingo's, was about nine kilometers from the location of the banana plantations.
"We are still going on with the investigation kasi kung contaminated ang water source dahil sa existence ng mga banana plantations, hindi lang sana ang fishpond ni Dr. Domingo ang maaapektuhan," Tabay said.
In an interview last week, Councilor Leo Avila said there are indications the fishkill was due to pesticide poisoning. He said that aside from the fishes, frogs and freshwater eels had also dwindled in numbers since last year.
He said that from 49 fish growers last year, only 9 remained this year due to the series of fishkills in the area. Avila estimated the cost of actual losses since last year at P15 million. He said the Domingo's lost P1 million from this week's fishkill alone.
Avila said they had already taken water samples from the fishponds and will send these to the pesticide analysis laboratory in Manila to find out the real cause behind the fishkill.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (April 2, 2005 issue)
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