The Taal Lake Aquaculture Alliance Inc. (TLAAI) has appealed to government authorities to give its members sufficient window hours every day to feed and harvest thousands of tons of healthy, marketable fish still in their cages.
In a letter addressed to Agriculture Secretary William Dar, Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas and other government officials involved in Taal’s rehabilitation, the group said about 70 percent of their fish cages survived and are still floating despite Taal Volcano’s eruption.
TLAAI said before Taal’s eruption, daily fish harvest from Taal Lake ranges from 120 to 150 tons of bangus and tilapia, and an annual production of more than 50,000 tons from 6,000 cages.
Of this volume, about 60 percent is consumed in Batangas, Cavite, Laguna and Quezon.
The remaining 40 percent is sent to Metro Manila and sold through the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority-operated fish port complex in Navotas City.
“Half of the surviving cages still have healthy living fish, but they need to be fed and fattened to maximize quality and value. We also need to repair our cages and start recovering and rebuilding whatever is left of our livelihood. These fish are our only chance to recover and sustain our 12,000 workers and their families,” the group said.
Aside from requesting window hours for qualified and capable personnel to feed, nurture and undertake emergency cage repairs within the 7-kilometer danger zone, the group also requested for a mobile office of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and other local government units for the issuance of Auxiliary Invoice and Local Transport Permits to facilitate quick and efficient fish harvest.
The group is asking the government for assistance to fisherfolks during the implementation of the window hours for fish feeding and harvesting within the 7-km. radius around Taal Volcano, and for the repair and rehabilitation of access roads to facilitate quick delivery of fish harvest, feeds supply and urgent cage repairs.
Likewise, the TLAAI wants the Department of Agriculture to provide credit or letters of guarantee to feed producers so that fish farmers with insufficient funds can purchase feeds, apart from their representation in the proposed Taal Lake Commission, citing their experience and perspective on the situation in Taal Lake.
