DAGUPAN CITY—The abrupt change of temperature from hot to cold, in view of the start of the rainy season, took its toll upon fish being raised in ponds and cages in Dagupan City.
This was bared by Maximo Solis, head of Task Force Bantay Ilog in Dagupan, who said the phenomenon, called gataw in the Pangasinan dialect, is a normal occurrence in the brackish water and need not be alarmed about.
He said based on the report of an official of the City Agriculture Office, gataw caused the fish to lose their resistance and some, but not many of them, died.
Solis observed the coming of rains after long dry months also caused a little discoloration of the water, which affected the fish in captivity.
It is now raining in Dagupan and Pangasinan daily, especially in the afternoon.
There was no report Dagupan was affected by the neap tide that hit the country on May 18 to 20, when water in rivers and bays was almost not moving.
Unfortunately, the neap tide exacted heavy toll on the fish being raised in cages in Bolinao and Anda towns.
A report stated Anda town alone suffered a P40-million damage due to fish kill.