Laguna Lake fishpen dismantling to constrict fish supply in Metro

MANILA, Philippines - Metro Manila may face a possible shortage in fish supply if the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) will continue with its efforts to dismantle fish pens in the lake, a fish cage operator warned Thursday. During a forum, retired police general Marino Filart, who represented a fish cage owners group in Laguna Bay, said the average haul of 45,000 metric tons a year from the lake could go down even further with LLDA's move. Filart noted that the annual haul of fishermen from the lake comprises around 30 percent of the supply to Metro Manila markets. "We are for the regulation of the fish pens and fish cages in Laguna Lake but the government should thoroughly study the economic implications on the fishing industry before implementing the zero fish pond (policy) in the lake," Filart said during the weekly Daungan forum in Quezon City. In the forum, Filart said their group would submit a position paper to Malacañang to appeal LLDA's effort to dismantle fishpens in the lake. "We are appealing to the government to reconsider the clearing of fish pens in the lake because it is the only source of cheap fish to the poor," Filart said. Filart, who has been maintaing his fishpens in the lake for 17 years now, said that while they support government's efforts to clean up the Laguna Bay of illegal structures that pollute the body of water which results to fishkills. However, other factors are contributing to the pollution of the lake, including residential and industrial wastes. "Government should carefully look into the other factors of the pollution which are the residential and industrial wastes thrown into the lake," he said. Citing a study by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Filart said 70 percent of the pollutants in Laguna lake come from domestic wastes while 19 percent account for the discharge from factories along its shore. "There is no mention (in the study) of fish cages or fish pens causing the pollution which leads to fish kills," Filart said, as he cited the proliferation of informal settlers living along the lake shorelines. Gil Flores, a fishpen operator, said: "We don't put artificial feeds to the fish in our fish pens. We use natural feeds so we don't contaminate the water." Flores said government should spare legitimate fishpens from its dismantling efforts. - GMANews.TV