TAAL DELICACY The freshwater sardine “tawilis,” a delicacy in towns surrounding Taal Lake, is sold at a public market in Sto. Tomas City in Batangas province. (Photo by EDMUND CENTENO / ContributorONTRIBUTOR
MANILA, Philippines — The popular freshwater sardine known as “tawilis” (Sardinella tawilis) is at risk of being decimated by the expected explosion of Taal Volcano, a possibility that has scientists deeply concerned.
The fish species, which is endemic to Taal Lake, was declared an endangered species last year by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and the government had been scrambling to save it since.
Francisco Torres Jr., national stock assessment program coordinator of the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, said the volcano’s eruptions might yield rocky debris and other volcanic hazards that could alter water quality in the lake.
This would bring the lake’s oxygen level to a degree that could kill marine life, while surviving species might not be safe for human consumption anymore, he said.
Acidic effect“What’s dangerous is the volcano’s acidic effect so we have to monitor the water’s oxygen level,” Torres told the Inquirer by telephone on Wednesday.
“Our biggest worry are those fish species being cultured and are currently trapped in fish cages. They would not be able to go out of these cages and eventually suffocate and die,” he said. “Once they die, they would attract insects and contaminate the water more … they have to be disposed of immediately.”
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said 6,000 fish cages could be damaged and would yield a production loss of 15,033 metric tons of tawilis and blackchin tilapia.
The agency’s officials and researchers had been deployed to the area to assess the situation, BFAR Director Eduardo Gongona said, adding that there was no way to avoid fish kills.
After the volcano’s phreatic (steam-driven) eruption blanketed nearby areas with thick ash, residents immediately evacuated their homes and left fish cages unattended.
“No one dared go near the volcano because it was dangerous. Even our people were advised not to push through [for the past two days],” said Christopher Morales, the Department of Agriculture planning division chief.
Despite these threats, Torres was positive, describing tawilis as “a resilient animal.”
“It could swim away from Taal Volcano and survive so long as the explosions would not last for days,” he said.
Tawilis may require human assistance to survive the ongoing volcanic activity, according to Rep. Jocelyn Tulfo of the anticrime and terrorism party list ACT-CIS.
“The endangered tawilis must be monitored closely at Taal Lake,” Tulfo said in a statement.
—With a report from DJ Yap
