BFAR assures enough supply of bangus amid Pangasinan fishkill

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan (PNA) – The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in the Ilocos region has assured that there is an ample supply of milkfish (bangus) for the region and other regions, despite the recent fishkill in the towns of Anda and Bolinao.

BFAR Regional Director Nestor Domenden, in an interview during a fisheries forum here on Wednesday, revealed that less than 1 percent of the region’s total production for the year was lost due to the fishkill.

Domenden said the region is self-sufficient in bangus production, and can continue supplying the needs of other areas, including Metro Manila, as the region is 127percent sufficiency.

“While it’s true that 964 tons of losses are not a joke, it is only 20 percent of production of the 123 structures in said areas,” he said.

Meanwhile, BFAR officials are planning to speak with Mayor Aldrin Cerdan of Anda and Mayor Arnold Celeste of Bolinao early next week regarding the fishpen moratorium.

“The BFAR has no police powers, so the local government unit has to take the reins in the enforcement,” said Domenden.

The moratorium includes a plan or relocation or spotting for an alternative mariculture area, ideally within the Lingayen Gulf.

BFAR also suggested the use of rope frame cases as a way of modifying the fish cages.

“A more permanent solution would be removing the structures blocking the flow of water, so that waste materials would not settle underneath,” Domenden said.

As of 2016, BFAR has detected three meters of muck (waste materials) under the waters of Caquiputan Channel.