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Thursday, March 25, 2004
Fishkill hits Salapingao
By Fred P. Macaraeg
* Monday night's heavy downpour believed to have caused phenomenon
THE price of bangus in Dagupan City drastically dropped Tuesday due to a glut in the market brought about by a fish kill that hit a coastal barangay in the city.
The fishkill affected nearly 300,000 bangus cultured in fish pens in Barangay Salapingao.
Technicians from the Office of the City Agriculturist led by Alberto T. de Vera, officer in charge, Wednesday visited the area where the fish kill occurred to gather water samples for examination by the Department of Agriculture (DA).
There are speculations that the phenomenon could have been caused by the heavy downpour Monday night, causing a sudden change in the temperature of the river water in the area.
Other fishermen believe the heavy rains could have washed into the river toxic substances that poisoned the bangus in the fish pens.
Meanwhile, others believed that since rainwater is heavier than river water, the heavy downpour could have stirred the riverbed, causing toxic elements at the bottom of the fish pens to float and contaminate the waters of the fish farms.
Due to the glut of bangus in the market, its price decreased from the previous prevailing price of P90 to P100 down to between P60 and P70.
Two fish pen operators, who were victims of the fishkill, were still grateful they immediately noticed that the fishes were unusually active and jumping inside the fish pens, giving them enough time to harvest the cultured bangus.
They said they did not incur any loss as the bangus had already reached maturity and were ready for harvest and marketed.
Some operators, however, were forced to harvest their stocks prematurely to lessen their loss.
De Vera said they were going to examine the water in the barangay to determine the cause of the fish kill.
He cited the need for close monitoring of the water as the fish kill might also affect the neighboring coastal barangays of Lomboy and Pugaro, where there are also many fish pens.
De Vera expressed wonder why the fish kill hit only Salapingao when it is situated next to other coastal barangays.
(March 25, 2004 issue)
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