War on Dagupan fish pens back
The city government is resuming the dismantling of fish pens in the city’s rivers after a 15-day grace period granted to some pen owners lapsed two weeks ago.
The city government is resuming the dismantling of fish pens in the city’s rivers after a 15-day grace period granted to some pen owners lapsed two weeks ago.
For a small but bustling coastal city crisscrossed by seven rivers and 14 creeks that all drain into the Lingayen Gulf, Dagupan experiences yearly flooding. But in the last three decades, the floods have become more intense and disruptive, with water rising in record levels and covering wider areas.
A city government task force on Thursday started tearing down illegally built fish pens in rivers here. Two teams, consisting of 12 members each and armed with bolos, manually took down the nets and uprooted the bamboo poles that made up the pens, city agriculturist Emma Molina said.
A local government task force on Thursday started tearing down illegally built fish pens in the rivers here.
“Bangus” (milkfish) prices plunged from P90 a kilo to P10 for a whole week at the end of June when news broke out that rotting bangus were flushed down Sual Bay, prompting the local government to consider suing fish cage owners for economic sabotage.
Even without fish pens, the bangus (milkfish) industry in this bustling city will continue to thrive. City Agriculturist Emma Molina made this assurance on Thursday to allay fears that the milkfish industry here will collapse once the city government starts removing illegally built fish pens from its rivers.
Acting Mayor Belen Fernandez has asked the city agriculture office to clear Dagupan’s rivers of all illegal fishing structures, which have sprouted there in the last four months.
For gobbling up two grilled “bangus” (milkfish) in a little over a minute, Edgar Grado erased last year’s bangus-eating contest record during the Bangus Rodeo, an event of the Bangus Festival here.
As projected by business and political leaders in central and northern Luzon at the start of 2012, the regions’ economies showed improvement with more commercial activities in the provinces.
The Pasay City Regional Trial Court on Thursday denied the request of former Commission on Elections Chairman Benjamin Abalos, Sr. to go to Taiwan to buy bangus (milkfish) fry.
Thousands of bangus (milkfish) went belly up here on Thursday after a fishkill hit two areas in this coastal city.
The overproduction of bangus (milkfish), this city’s ticket to fame and economic development, could be a reason why Dagupan’s continued flooding and sinking have worsened, according to a study conducted by World Wide Fund for Nature, an international conservation organization.
This city’s dream to breed “golden” bangus has gone belly up. Dr. Westly Rosario, research center chief of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), said a rare golden bangus, notable for its bright yellow scales and fin, died on June 24 “probably because of the water quality” of its containment pond.
