The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has declared a one-year moratorium on the issuance of permits for fish cage operation in Laguna de Bay starting next year.
According to Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez, the DENR, through the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), will no longer renew the permit issued to fish cage operators.
The permits to operate fish cages expire this month.
Lopez said the fish-cage operators will be allowed to harvest their stocks until March.
The DENR chief met with fish-cage and fish-pen operators to notify them of the decision.
To recall, President Duterte expressed dismay that the Laguna de Bay has become congested and occupants are mostly large fishing corporations which deprive fishermen access to their traditional fishing grounds.
“I talked to one of the fish-cage operators and I asked him how big is his fish cage. He told me 40 hectares. Forty hectares? My God, that is a very big area,” Lopez said.
She said the President wants to prioritize small fishermen to benefit from the lake by fishing in open waters or aquaculture production, by awarding of contracts to operate fish cages in designated areas.
In implementing Duterte’s orders to clear the Laguna de Bay of illegal structures, Lopez said they plan stop all fish-cage operation to allow the lake to recover from decades of environmental degradation for at least one year.
“We will no longer issue permits starting next year. But we will allow them to harvest their stocks then after that, there will be a moratorium on fish-cage operation for one year,” Lopez said.
Undersecretary Art Valdez, head of the National Anti-Environmental Crime Task Force, said the owners of the structures would be asked to voluntarily dismantle their fish cage and fish pens to allow them to salvage materials.
Otherwise, he said the DENR and LLDA would be forced to demolish the fish cages and fish pens.
“With no permit to operate, their structures and operation becomes illegal. But no need to press charges against them. We just want them to remove their own fish cage or we will demolish them,” he said.
According to Valdez, the lake’s carrying capacity is roughly 9,000 hectares but the total area occupied by fish cages and fish pens is estimated to be around 13,000 hectares.
Laguna de Bay is a major aquaculture hub where the bulk of Metro Manila’s bangus and tilapia supply are grown.