Fish kill in Pangasinan blamed on changing weather

Dead bangus (milkfish) have started floating in fishponds in parts of Pangasinan, with fish farmers blaming the change in weather conditions for the fish kill.

In Binmaley town, dead fish have been floating in the last five days, following days of rain in the afternoon, GMA Dagupan's Jette Arcellana reported on 24 Oras North Central Luzon.

"Sudden change ng temperature, siyempre maapektuhan yung ating plankton at tsaka phytoplankton dito sa ilog natin," said aquaculture technologist Luis Fernandez.

This has affected some six hectares of fish ponds in the town, the report said.

"Nagpatubig muna ako, baka maka-recover yung mga isda. Pero binantayan ko siya mga one hour, ang ginawa ko na lang forced harvest," said fish pond owner Ariel Fernandez.

Some of the fingerlings were removed from the fishpond due to the foul smell.

The local agriculture office has started monitoring the situation fearing the dead fish might be brought to local markets and sold.

"Yung gataw kapag nakuha ng maaga pwedeng for consumption, dahil hindi pa naman masyadong nabubulok," said municipal agriculturist Fernando Ferrer.

Agriculture officials also assured this will not affect the supply of fish in the town.

Another possible cause of the fish kill could be overstocking of fish. Agriculture officials recommend 4,000 to 7,000 fingerlings in a one-hectare area. — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News