Ban on fishing in dam lifted

BAGUIO CITY—The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has lifted the ban on fishing at San Roque Dam in Pangasinan, which the agency imposed because of fear of heavy metal contamination when the tailings pond of Philex Mining Corp. leaked on August 1.

Nestor Domenden, BFAR director in the Ilocos, said the advisory issued by BFAR on Aug. 28 showed that tests on tilapia and carp samples from the dam revealed that these were fit for human consumption.

The test was requested by San Roque Power Corp. (SRPC) because of fears that fish raised at the dam had been contaminated after the tailings pond leak. BFAR seeded the dam with carp and tilapia fingerlings.

Philex stopped milling and other mining operations in its Padcal mine in Itogon, Benguet, after the leak was discovered on Aug. 1. The firm said the leak stopped a day later.

Philex also promised to check all waterways and tributaries near the tailings pond and clean these up.

Mines and Geosciences Bureau officials said the silt and water discharged through a leak in the tailings pond were believed to have flowed into Balog River in Itogon town, a tributary of the Agno River.

Anything discharged through Agno River goes to San Roque Dam in San Manuel, Pangasinan.

Domenden, however, said fishermen gathering fish in the reservoir should be cautious.

“BFAR could not confidently claim that all fish from the dam are safe for consumption because only tilapia and carp were sampled and tested,” he said.

Other fish available at the dam were not collected for testing because these were in the deeper parts of the reservoir. Among these are goby, two kinds of eel, gourami, catfish, mudfish and freshwater shrimp, he said.

SRPC records showed that at the time of collection of samples on Aug. 6, the dam’s water level was 283.54 meters above sea level.

“This is why we can only vouch for the safety of tilapia and carp,” said Domenden.

If other kinds of fish were caught in the dam, Domenden said these should be also submitted for tests.

Tilapia and carp samples were tested for contamination from lead, cadmium, arsenic, copper and mercury.

Domenden said the samples had traces of heavy metals but these were way below harmful levels.

He said BFAR immediately imposed a ban on fishing at the dam when he received reports of the tailings leak.

“We did not want to take chances as it involved the health of residents [around the dam complex],” he said. “Now we have the scientific data as basis that tilapia and carp grown at the dam are safe, so we are lifting the ban.” Yolanda Sotelo, Inquirer Northern Luzon