The government has to come up with a contingency plan for the fisheries sector amid the threat of El Niño, according to the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya).
“Fishers are bracing for the prolonged dry spell and its adverse impacts to their livelihood.
During El Niño, fishing activities are more difficult than usual, as fishes and other marine species migrate and move to deeper waters to seek cooler temperatures. The El Niño phenomenon also triggers ecological disturbances such as fish kills and red tide due to low levels of dissolved oxygen in water,” said Ronnel Arambulo, Pamalakaya national spokesperson, in a statement yesterday.
This early, migration to deeper waters has caused farm gate prices of fish from Laguna de Bay to drop.
“In Laguna de Bay for instance, fishes acquire an unpleasant, earthy taste and smell due to their submersion in deep waters, causing a drop in their farm gate prices. This results in a further diminution of income for small-scale fishers and, consequently, leads to hunger for their dependent families,” Arambulo said.
Demosthenes Escoto, national director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said the agency is encouraging fisherfolk to adopt good aquaculture practices like having the appropriate stock or number of fingerlings in their cages to lessen the probability of fish kill.
Escoto said BFAR is intensifying information, education and communication campaigns among fish farmers while encouraging fish farming in cages in the mariculture parks and ensuring sufficiency of fry and fingerlings.
He said BFAR will continue its close monitoring of algae bloom for possible red tide occurrence and provision of technical assistance on fish disease detection and treatment, among others.
Escoto said El Niño may be favorable to archipelagic species such as tuna and sardines because these organisms prefer warmer temperatures but will cause challenges to land-based aquaculture species like milkfish and tilapia since lower water levels may also mean scarcity of dissolved oxygen.
BFAR said supply and prices of fish in local markets remain stable with the agency’s latest price monitoring report showing milkfish is priced at P120 to P160 per kg, tilapia ranges from P130 to P150 per kg and local-fresh galunggong at P200 per kg. Jed Macapagal
