Drop in ‘bangus’ supply seen as fish cages replace pens

BOLINAO, PANGASINAN—“Bangus” (milkfish) production is expected to drop in the first quarter of 2019 when Bolinao and neighboring Anda town start dismantling fish pens in January.

The two towns decided to replace all fish pens with fish cages in their designated aquaculture areas after a massive fish kill in May that resulted in huge economic losses.

To rid Bolinao of fish pens by the middle of next year, the town government will not issue permits for fish pen operations starting Jan. 1 while it removes 179 pens in the coastal villages of Culang, Luciente II and Luna, Mayor Arnold Celeste said.

Fish kill

In May, operators lost around P110 million worth of bangus to the fish kill that continued for days, prompting both Bolinao and Anda to temporarily suspend the stocking of fish.

Fish pens are permanent structures that are “rooted” into the seabed so water cannot freely flow under them. They are believed to have caused fish kills which have become frequent.

“Uneaten feeds accumulate under the pens and rot there, causing pollution that in turn causes fish kill. Cages, on the other hand, have space at the bottom and can be moved around,” Celeste said.

Dismantling pens

While it takes only a week to build the pens, it takes about a month to remove bamboo poles driven into the seabed, said Florante Garcia, a municipal fishery technician.

This means that dismantling all fish pens will take up to six months, he said.

Fish cages will be installed once the Bolinao government draws up a plan to develop a mariculture zone in the town, Celeste said.

The number of fish structures has gone down from more than 1,000 in the past years to only 461, composed of 282 cages and 179 pens. —YOLANDA SOTELO