Blue mussels a 'bane' to Dagupan fish farmers

DAGUPAN CITY – The blue mussels introduced in Dagupan rivers a few years ago are now considered a bane to local fish farmers raising signanid (malaga) and grouper (lapulapu).

This was bared by Marvin Asis of the City Agriculture Office (CAO) during a committee hearing conducted on Tuesday by the City Council on the proposed Dagupan Comprehensive Development Plan for 2018 to 2022.

De Asis said the blue-lipped mussels, which multiply rapidly, stick to the nets of fish cages and hinder the flow of water to the pens.

He told the city council that many fish pens are no longer operating in some rivers in Dagupan because fish farmers cannot afford to change their nets all the time.

Fish farmers in Dagupan earlier consider the blue-lipped mussels as an invasive species, since its shell and meat are a little smaller than common brown and black mussels normally being raised in commercial quantity in the coastal waters of western Pangasinan.

The brown and black mussels are susceptible to red tide that usually occurs in western Pangasinan where the water becomes salty during summer.

On the other hand, blue mussel is intolerant to salty environment and thrives only in brackish water that is plentiful in Dagupan City.

However, Westly Rosario, chief of the Dagupan-based National Integrated Fisheries Technology and Development Center (NIFTDC), does not consider the blue-lipped mussels as bane but rather a boon.