Mussels, oysters also turn up dead in Las Piñas and Parañaque

More mussels and oysters turned up dead in some farms in Las Piñas and Parañaque following a fish-kill that killed about 30 tubs of fish Thursday and local officials fear losses of farmers and vendors could reach 12 million.

Nilo Germedia, Parañaque City Agriculture office officer-in-charge (OIC) in an interview over DZBB said that they discovered the dead mussels after visiting some mussel and oyster farms along with representatives of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Friday.

“Nakakalungkot sobrang daming nakamatay...

Isang ektarya, lahat ng tahong bumagsak. Halos buong tahongan ng Parañaque ay apektado, maging ang ating talabahan (It is very sad. The affected area is almost a hectare. The mussel and oyster industry in Paranaque are affected),” he added.

About 500 kilos of mussels were wasted.

Germedia expressed concern that mussels are dying since they are reportedly resilient and “the last specie to die” when there is a problem at sea.

“Namumuhan po [yung mga farmers natin] ng 1300,000 to 1500,000. During bad harvest, kumikita sila ng halos 11M. But, in a good harvest, umaabot 11.5 to

12M (The farmers invest from 1300,000 to 1500,000 in the mussel business. They earn about a million during bad harvest and earn as much as 12 million when the harvest is good),” Germedia noted.

“So, napalaking industriya po ng tahong (the mussel industry is big),” he added.

In Las Pinas, about 150 kilos of mussels have died and according to Cesar Canoy, Las Pinas city fishery technologist this is the first time it occurred. There are no oyster farms in Las Pinas.

The recovery of dead shellfish started a day after nearly two tons of various species of dead fish – sapsap, salaysalay, bagaong, asuhos, banak, tilapia, salinyase – were discovered floating on the coast of the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area’s (LPPCHEA) Freedom and Long islands Thursday.

Germedia said the phenomenon might be caused by “alig” -- when saltwater mixes with rainwater during the rainy season.

Joey Petra, farm worker at LPPCHEA, said they immediately sought the help of BFAR and other agencies after seeing a blanket of floating fish.

“Sa walong taon ko dito, ngayon lang po nangyari ‘yan na masama ang tubig, na namatay ang mga isda [In my eight years working here, this is the first time this happened),” he said.

P/Col. Jason Cipriano, Philippine National Police regional maritime group chief, likewise said this is the first time the maritime police encountered such incident in six years.

“Kaya nagtataka kami bakit nagkaroon ng fish kill (We were wondering why there was a fish kill),” he said.

Initial investigation conducted by the Parañaque City Agriculture and Fisheries Office Extension showed dynamite fishing as the possible cause of the fish kill.

“May mga isda na dumaan ng traumatic experience [some fish specie apparently underwent traumatic experience], which is probably caused by dynamite fishing,” Germedia said.

But results of a test conducted by BFAR on the water quality showed “poor levels of dissolved oxygen and higher levels of Ammonia and Phosphates than the standard level” as the cause of the fish kill.

The BFAR said ammonia might have come from decaying organic waste and other agricultural, domestic and industrial waste; while the phosphate might have come from domestic sewage or from agricultural and urban areas.

Germedia advised residents in the area to be cautious in eating shellfish.

They are still awaiting the result of lab exam as to the cause of the shellfish kill.