Circular, oversized fish cages removed in Taal Lake

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna—The multi-agency Task Force Taal Lake dismantled circular fish cages as it moved to phase out this type of structure in Taal Lake.

Last week, four circular bamboo fish cages were dismantled in Barangay Sampaloc in Talisay, Batangas, said task force vice chair and Batangas City environment and natural resources officer Laudemir Salac.

Salac said the task force was concentrating on the area, as this was where last year’s massive fishkill  originated, spreading to other municipalities and areas in the lake.

The fishkill had been blamed on overstocking.

In a statement, the Taal Lake Aquaculture Alliance Inc. said the dismantled fish pens were not part of the 6,000 legitimate fish cages that members of the group owned.

The alliance, a group of more than 1,000 fish cage operators and workers in Taal Lake, said fish cages that its members owned were accredited by the government.

Circular fish cages, according to Salac, are more than twice the government-mandated size of fish cages in Taal, which is only 10 x 10 meters. The circular type can also hold 15-20 tons of fish compared with 10 x 10 meter fish cages that can hold only up to 5 tons of fish.

Salac said allowing circular fish cages was “not fair to those complying” with the rule on fish cages.

To discourage the circular type of structures, the Protected Area Management Bureau, a member of the task force, issued in January an order that required owners of circular fish cages to secure two permits, which means they would be listed as owning two fish pens and would be required to pay twice the permit fee of P7,000.

Salac said he believed this would cut down the number of circular fish cages in Taal as these, while costing more in permit fees, would have to be destroyed anyway.

From at least 600 in 2011, the number of this type of structure has dwindled to 170 as of last week.