Pangasinan townsfolk oppose fish hatchery plan

NO TO FISH HATCHERY Residents of Bolinao, Pangasinan province, stage a picket in front of the municipal hall to oppose the construction of a fish hatchery at the town’s ecotourism zone. RAY ZAMBRANO/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON

BOLINAO, Pangasinan—Long stretches of white sand beaches are found in Bolinao on the western tip of Pangasinan province—reasons compelling enough for residents to fight a proposal to put up a fish hatchery   in the town.

Last week, they marched in protest against the project that would rise in Barangay Patara, fearing that it would harm the local tourism industry and their source of livelihood.

The hatchery is being developed by Feedmix Specialist Inc., a fish feed manufacturer, at a 1.3-hectare coastal area. It will be called the Cape Bolinao Sustainable Marine Finfish Hatchery and Eco-Learning Center.

Feedmix said its project would have “an extensive water treatment system, which would be designed with multiple layers of sedimentation and natural bio-filters such as seaweeds and oysters—before the hatchery’s water is released back into the sea.”

“This makes both environmental and business sense, since the hatchery would rely on the same source of seawater to rear its marine life,” Alex Soriano, Feedmix vice president for business development, said in a statement.

Led by “running priest” Robert Reyes, the protesters stopped in front of the municipal hall, chanting, “No to Feedmix! Save Bolinao!” Reyes and some leaders of  Concerned Citizens of Bolinao (CCB) proceeded to the office of Mayor Arnold Celeste to convince him to reconsider his decision to allow the project.

At one point, the meeting turned into a shouting match between Celeste and several CCB leaders.

The mayor told reporters later that the municipal council and the Patar village council had approved the project after it went through public consultations.

Dr. Consuelo de Perio, CCB chair, said the opposition to the project would not die down. “They held three public hearings and they saw that the people did not like the project,” she said.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) issued an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) for the project in October 2015. According to the document, the fish hatchery would consist of 45 water tanks of different sizes for brood stock, raceway hatching, spawning and egg hatching.

Feedmix said the municipal council endorsed the project in July 2015, “along with strong support from the DENR and the EMB as it would have minimal environmental impacts, if any, and will strongly benefit the economy and the nation’s food security.”

Soriano said Feedmix was willing to share its water treatment technology to resorts in the area.

“Resorts lacking sewage treatment plants, solid waste processing and adequate water systems will pass out untreated human waste into the ocean sewage,” he said in the statement.

“It is common to see fish or shrimp hatcheries side-by-side with luxury hotels and resorts in famous tourist destinations such as in Phuket, Thailand, and Gondol, Indonesia,” Feedmix said.

Celeste said the local government was given assurance that wastewater would not flow to the sea. “So the resorts will not be affected,” he said, pointing out that the project site is about 300 meters from the coastline.”

The mayor said the company would also build an oceanarium as a tourist attraction.