Heat, pollution eyed in Mambaling fishkill

DEAD MEAT: Fish lie dead at Pond A in the South Road Properties (SRP) in Cebu City. Residents reported “hundreds” of bangus, tilapia and halwan (mudfish) massed at the shallow part of the pond on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019. Pond A makes up 60 hectares of the 295-hectare Cebu City Government-owned SRP. (Photo by Alex Badayos)
DEAD MEAT: Fish lie dead at Pond A in the South Road Properties (SRP) in Cebu City. Residents reported “hundreds” of bangus, tilapia and halwan (mudfish) massed at the shallow part of the pond on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019. Pond A makes up 60 hectares of the 295-hectare Cebu City Government-owned SRP. (Photo by Alex Badayos)

THE extreme heat felt in Cebu and water contamination are some of the factors the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Central Visayas is considering as the cause of the fishkill in a pond at the South Road Properties (SRP).

On Thursday afternoon, Oct. 3, 2019, nearby residents and workers of various establishments near Pond A, owned by the Cebu City Government, were surprised to see flocks of fish-eating birds “feasting over” hundreds of fish of different species in the shallow parts of the pond.

Mark, who didn’t give his full name, said he saw the dead or dying fish and witnessed how residents gathered them, some placing them in sacks, to sell to others. These residents even went through the fence to reach the pond.

“Mga 1 p.m. to nagkalit lang nanunga ang mga awa (mother milkfish) ba, mga dagko kaayo. Gahapon, daghan og tawo. Daghan pod ang isda. Buhi pa, pero mura nag mga bungog na. (It was around 1 p.m. when we were surprised to see hundreds of bangus appearing near the pond walls. Most of the residents nearby came here and caught them. The fishes were still alive but were about to die. Some were already dead),” he said in an interview Friday, Oct. 4.

Edgar Delfin of the Bfar provincial fishery office said that low dissolved oxygen level in the water due to the rise in temperature could be a factor in the fishkill.

Delfin said: “Aside from the low dissolved oxygen level, water reduction could also be a factor. The extreme heat brings down the water level and this diminishes the oxygen level, leaving the ammonia content at a high level. Mas daghan siyag population, mag overcrowding siya (The bigger the population, the more the overcrowding).”

Last Sept. 27, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration - Visayas bureau based in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu recorded a heat index of 41 degrees Celsius.

Aside from bangus, species of tilapia and “halwan” (mudfish) were also found dead and floating in Pond A in Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City, last Thursday.

John, who didn’t give his full name but said he is an employee of a nearby government office, pointed out that the absence of a water outlet in Pond A may have had something to do with the fishkill.

“Stuck na na ang tubig diri. Wala nay lutsanan padung gawas sa dagat. Ang tubig sad taga hawak na lang. Gahapon, hasta mga bata nanguha pod. Sinako gani ang nakuha sa uban,” he said. (The water is stagnant. There is no outlet to the sea. The water has gone down to my waist level. Even children were able to get the fish. Some used sacks to carry their catch.)

Since the pond is in a secluded area of the SRP and is near a landfill, Delfin said chemical contamination could also be a factor.

“Kay excluded man siya nga area, duna may mga possibilities nga ang mga run-off sa nearby landfill, adto g’yod siya mga hulog didto. Murag catch basin. Basin naay mga factors gikan sa commercial area nga makadaot pod sa isda,” he said. (It is possible that there is run-off water in the pond from the nearby landfill. The pond could serve as a catch basin. There may be a commercial factor to the fishkill.)

He then advised the public not to eat any of the fish caught from the pond until it is clear there is no contamination or pollution of the water.

“For now ang ato g’yod nga pinaka safe nga advice, dili sa jud siya ipakaon hangtod sa ma prove nato nga walay contamination,” he said. (For now, to be safe, do not eat the fish until we can prove there is no contamination.)

A Bfar 7 team took samples of the pond water and dead fish Friday for laboratory examination. Results would be known on Monday, he said.

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