CITY OF SAN FERNANDO --- The Pampanga Provincial Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) and partner agencies have installed 155 organic booms, covering 930 meters of coastal waters along Pampanga Bay.
The booms are expected to protect fishing grounds from the possible effects of oil spills off the coast of neighboring Bataan province.
Pampanga fabricated and installed, in less than three weeks, several dozens of organic booms.
This was possible due to sustainable fabrication methods and inter-agency cooperation, which allowed for the construction of 2,594 booms.
The province even exceeded its target of 2,337 booms, with an excess of 257 booms.
The fast fabrication was an effort of the Provincial Government of Pampanga, which tapped its workforce of Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) beneficiaries.
The TUPAD workers were augmented by additional personnel from the Philippine Coast Guard and PDRRMO.
The concept for the organic booms mainly came from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The agency drew inspiration from the trash traps it used to contain and collect trash along major rivers and tributaries.
As of press time, Bataan province is grappling with three oil spills from MTKR Jason Bradley, MKTR Terranova, and MV Mirola 1.
Barely a few kilometers from Pampanga’s coastal waters, the oil spill poses a threat to Pampanga’s fishing industry.
The organic boom’s design is simple. A layer of coconut husk lines and envelopes a series of 1.5-liter empty soda plastic bottles, which act as floaters for the organic material.
The whole contraption, resembling a long round leg pillow, is then secured by nets.
DENR regional director Ralph Pablo, in a recent meeting organized by the Provincial Government of Pampanga, said that these booms are easy to fabricate and only use a decorticator machine to soften the coconut husks.
An organic boom is at least two to three meters long.
“These are also easy to install and could greatly help in containment,” Pablo said during a public discussion recently held at the Kingsborough Convention Center.
Pampanga’s need for coconut husks was answered by the Provincial Government of Batangas, as well as donations of other materials from concerned groups.
Coconut husks have effective adsorption capacities, making them an effective material in the fabrication of booms.
The recent oil spill has exposed the vulnerability of coastal waters along Manila Bay, including Pampanga Bay.
A direct impact on Pampanga’s coastal waters will affect some 140,046 fisherfolk and agri-fishery workers in Guagua, Lubao, Macabebe, Masantol, Minalin, and Sasmuan towns.
Pampanga is part of Central Luzon’s powerhouse of top-producing fish provinces, which supplies the fish requirements in Manila and neighboring regions.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said the region produced 6,363.83 metric tons of fish for commercial fisheries in 2023.
Pampanga contributes more than 50 percent of the total fisheries production in Central Luzon, bigger than Bulacan and Bataan combined.
The province’s aquafarms, account for some 1,634 hectares.
Pampanga remains the country’s top producer of tilapia and sugpo and the second top producer of mudcrabs and milkfish.
Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office chief Art Punsalan said that Pampanga’s coastal waters should get enough protection using organic booms.
Punsalan said that they will be installing at least three layers of boom protection along the coastal lines.
“So far, we have already started the completion of the first layer. The governor is asking us to provide at least two or three more layers to ensure that enough protection is made,” Punsalan said.
He added that at least 20 kilometers of coastal waters will need booms.
The coast guard and the PDRRMO have already installed 342 meters of booms in Barangay Batang 2nd, 120 meters along the mouth of the Baruya River, 192 meters in Bancal Pugad, 126 meters in the mouth of the Mabuanbuan River, and 150 meters in San Jose Gumi. These areas are all in the coastal waters of Lubao and Sasmuan.
There have been no sightings of any oil spill within the surrounding waters of Pampanga, as of press time