ARE fish from Laguna de Bay safe to eat? Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez is now pushing for laboratory testing of fish from Laguna de Bay that may have high level of toxins and toxic chemicals acquired from the polluted waters of the country’s largest freshwater lake.
“If it is heavily toxic, then steps just [have to] be taken [to prevent people eating the fish]. [The] DOH [Department of Health] has to be involved. The public good is the most important,” Lopez said in a text message to the BusinessMirror.
Lopez is now coordinating with Health Secretary Paulyn Jean B. Rosell-Ubial who suggested to her the involvement of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Bfar).
Ubial, Lopez said, suggested that the Bfar immediately conduct laboratory tests for public health and safety reasons. “We will issue [an] advisory that eating it [fish from Laguna de Bay] will be dangerous to one’s health. The Bfar actually should do testing and give us the findings,” Lopez said, quoting a message from the DOH chief.
On Wednesday Lopez told reporters during the weekly Meet the Beat news conference in Quezon City that fish coming from Laguna de Bay are “unhealthy” because of “high level of mercury.”
During the news briefing, she said the first step to be taken in converting Laguna de Bay into an ecotourism zone “is to address water pollution.”
The 90,000-hectare Laguna de Bay is a major source of fish, including tilapia and bangus, sold in Metro Manila and other towns and cities in Luzon.
Even at home, Lopez said she cautions buying fish from Laguna de Bay, because toxic chemicals, like mercury and other pollutants, possibly including faecal coliform, have contaminated the lake’s waters.
She said President Duterte brought up the issue of Laguna de Bay during a Cabinet meeting before his State of the Nation Address and ordered the reduction of the number of fish cages and fish pens on the lake. Duterte wants to prioritize entitlement of the lake’s resources to poor fishermen, instead of rich and powerful individuals who own fishpens.
“What we found is that Laguna de Bay is overfished. There is just too much [fishing activity]. When we buy fish in our house, I tell them [household staff members], hindi iyan galing sa Laguna [de Bay] ha? Maraming mercury doon and it is not healthy [top eat fish coming from that lake]. Fish in Laguna have been found to be heavy in mercury. It is over over over [tolerable limits],” she said.