Thursday, August 30, 2007 Agency to monitor fish pens, cages in Pangasinan
DAGUPAN CITY -- A monitoring council is being organized by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Bfar) to check on the operation and management of fish pens and cages within the coastal towns in Pangasinan.
The move is being undertaken to prevent occurrence of fishkill within the area in the future.
The most recent fishkill in Pangasinan happened in Anda town two months ago, affecting about 100 fish pens and cages situated along the Caquiputan channel, particularly those in Barangays Mal-ong and Awag.
The nearby town of Bolinao recorded the worst fishkill incident in the country sometime in 2002.
Bfar Regional Director Nestor Domenden said there was an improvement in the quality of water at the Caquiputan channel as the fish pen and cage operators heeded the advice for them to reduce the number of structures along the affected area.
"But the long term plan is the creation of an integrated management council which we will call Sabba Integrated Management Council. This will be composed of five localities in Western Pangasinan, namely, Sual, Anda, Bolinao, Bani and Alaminos City. The objective is to have a uniform management strategy," he said.
Domenden said they initiated the creation of the council.
"Hopefully, this (council) will serve as a model to prevent any fishkill in the future," he said.
Members of the monitoring team will be representatives from the agriculture and environment departments, Bfar, Philippine Tourism Authority, Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management Council and accredited non-government organizations.
The fish pen and cage operators in Anda were later allowed to fill their fish pens and cages after the moratorium, as the situation at the affected areas had become manageable.
However, many fish cages and pens and their stocks of fingerlings were strictly regulated. (LCMY/Sunnex)
