|
DAGUPAN CITY—The
multimillion-peso bangus industry in Pangasinan is now
threatened with the reported decrease in the level of
dissolved oxygen (DO) in the waters of Caquiputan
Channel between the towns of Bolinao and Anda, according
to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
Westly
Rosario, chief of the BFAR’s National Integrated
Fisheries Technology Development Center in Dagupan City,
said the neap tide, brought about by the changing face
of the moon and marked by slow or nontidal flow of the
water, was detected since Tuesday, prompting him to
alert fish cage and pen owners in the area.
The town
of Bolinao is the biggest bangus producer in the
province and one of the main suppliers of bangus brought
to Navotas. About 10 trucks of bangus are being
harvested here daily. Given the findings of the BFAR
technical team,
Rosario
went on radio and alerted fish-pen owners to reduce the
feeding of their bangus in captivity or undertake
emergency harvesting.
The
standard D.O. level in fish producing areas is five
parts per million (ppm) although a reading of four ppm
is already acceptable. The alert was prompted by the
finding that the D.O. level of the water in the
Caquiputan Channel was less than one ppm.
While
some fish farmers heeded
Rosario’s
advice, others simply transferred their fish stocks to
Alaminos.
“The
good news is that while the neap tide is still on in the
Caquiputan Channel, it is not as bad as when it started
on Tuesday as there is already small water outflow as of
early Thursday,” he said.
Rosario
said it appears that the neap tide is also present in
the fish-production area of Sual, also a big producer of
bangus, near the Sual coal-fired power plant where the
D.O level on Thursday morning was at two ppm, still
below the standard.
Most of
the bangus raised in Pangasinan are raised in cages
along the Caquiputan Channel, a body of water that
Bolinao shares with the island town of Anda.
Rosario
said the team has moved to Dagupan to monitor the D.O.
level of the water in the island barangays. |
