Mining chemicals cause fish kill in Isabela

SANTIAGO CITY, Isabela: Residents, particularly members of the Dumagat tribe, have expressed concern over mining operations in Dinapigue town which reportedly caused fish kill in the rivers thus affecting their livelihood.

Pastor Marcos Diunas of a small religious group said a small-scale gold mining operation being conducted at Barangay Dimakawal in Dinapigue has been depriving fishermen of their daily catch.

“I personally visited the Luwao community and saw with my own eyes the widespread fish kill in the Dibin River in Dinapigue as a result of mining operations in Dimakawal that releases deadly chemicals into the rivers,” Diunas said.

He added that the residents first noticed a foul smell in the area that was traced to dead fish in the river after mining operations startedin Dimakawal recently.

After a heavy downpour over the weekend, the residents saw thousands of dead small and large fish floating in a 20- kilometer stretch of Dibin and Dinapigue rivers.

“Most of the dead fish came from the Dimakawal area which residents believe was not an effect of the summer heat but because of deadly chemicals used in gold mining operations that flow into bodies of water surrounding the area,” Diunas added.

Meanwhile, the town’s agriculture office also confirmed the fish kill after it conducted an ocular inspection with fisherfolk in the area.