Taal fish cage owners feel pinch

HARVEST IN PERIL A recent aerial inspection done by authorities over Taal Lake shows the damage left by the volcanic ashfall on the fish cages. —CLIFFORD NUÑEZ

SAN PEDRO CITY, Laguna, Philippines — Not only farm animals were affected by the eruption of Taal Volcano, but also traders, who owned fish cages around the Taal Lake and who sought government aid for the aquaculture industry.

Mario Balazon, spokesperson of the Taal Lake Aquaculture Alliance Inc. (TLAAI), said the industry continued to lose millions of pesos every day since the Jan. 12 volcanic eruption that disrupted the daily harvest of tilapia and “bangus” (milkfish), normally at 120 to 150 metric tons.

Balazon said many factors contributed to this. One was the damage left by the ashfall on the fish cages. The other was the displacement of caretakers and the restrictions imposed by the government within the 7-kilometer radius zone.

The government continued to enforce a lockdown in the hazard zones as the volcano continued to show signs of activity.

Free-for-all

Balazon said 40 percent of the 6,000 fish cages across the lake were damaged.

TLLAI, an association of about 3,000 fish cage owners, claimed that the industry produced more than 50,000 tons of fish annually, supplied to Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) region and to as far as Metro Manila’s fish port in Navotas City.

“Aside from the ash, it looked like there was a strong [lake] current [triggered by the Jan. 12 eruption] that damaged the structures [of fish cages],” Balazon said.

As a result, tons of fish had escaped into the open water allowing a “free-for-all” fishing for lakeside communities, he said.

Residents, who caught fish near the lakeshore, sold them for as low as P50 a kilo. The price of tilapia, as long as they reached the “marketable size,” stayed at P90 per kilo in the market.Small mortality

But Balazon noted a minimal fish mortality from the eruption, saying only about 1 percent of the total fish stock had died either due to sulfur level in the water or the lack of feed.

What they were concerned about was how to feed the remaining stocks as authorities prevented residents from returning near the Volcano Island with alert level 3 still up.

Most of the cages were located close to the Volcano Island in the municipal waters of Talisay, Laurel, Agoncillo, San Nicolas and Cuenca, all in Batangas province.

In a statement, TLLAI asked the government to grant the owners a daily “window hour” to sail back to the cages in order to feed the remaining fish and repair the bamboo structures.

Government aid

“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,” TLAAI said.

The group also asked Agriculture Secretary William Dar and government agencies to provide loans for the affected fisherfolk.

Human safety has been a concern since the eruption with many residents slipping through locked down areas to feed or rescue horses, cattle, pigs and even the pet dogs they left behind during the mass evacuation.

With the government bent on barring human settlement on the Volcano Island, a permanent danger zone, the residents are hoping for some consideration to keep the industry alive even after the situation normalizes, Balazon said.