Massive fish kill hits Dagupan City
DAGUPAN CITY—Aristotle de Guzman, a barangay councilor in Pugaro, could not hold back tears as he recounted burying 2,500 kilograms of milkfish, or “bangus,” that died in a massive fish kill on Sunday.
De Guzman said the fish in his three pens, each weighing about 500 grams and nearing harvest, began gasping for air on Saturday night.
“We tried to harvest them all when they were gasping for air on Saturday night, but we could only harvest as much as we could,” he said in a phone interview.
The fish they managed to save were rushed to the “consignacion,” a wholesale trading hub, but fetched only P80 per kg, far below the expected price of P200 or more.
“So many milkfish flooded the wholesale market that prices plummeted,” he said.,” he said in Filipino.
By Sunday morning, an estimated 70 percent to 75 percent of the milkfish being raised in fish pens in Pugaro and neighboring Salapingao had died. The dead fish were gathered and buried.
Early harvest
In Salapingao, barangay councilor Luisito de Guzman said signs of a possible fish kill appeared on Oct. 5, when a few fish began floating to the surface.
“Many operators were using paddles to increase dissolved oxygen and help the fish breathe. We were hoping they would survive until the scheduled harvest on Sunday,” said Luisito, who chairs the city’s Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (FARMC).
Fish pen operators have informal agreements with consignacion stall owners on when to deliver their harvests to prevent the market from being flooded with fish.
On Saturday, milkfish weighing about 500 g each, or two pieces per kg, sold for P200 per kg, Luisito said.
However, the massive fish kill forced operators to harvest prematurely, flooding the market and driving down prices even for fish that remained in good condition.
Aristotle said fish that could have earned P450,000 fetched only P190,000.
Erratic weather
“My capital for one pen is P800,000, mostly for the feeds. That’s borrowed money,” he said.
Both operators had planned to bring their harvests to the consignacion on Sunday night, but the fish kill wiped out much of their stocks.
“The rivers were full of floating dead fish on Sunday morning that you almost can’t see the water,” Luisito said.
Of the 7,000 milkfish he had been raising, about 5,000 died.
He still has 2,000 fish in his pen, but said the heat had kept them from feeding, causing them to lose weight and lowering their market value.
Fish growers said the incident was the first massive fish kill they had experienced in the city. They blamed erratic weather and sudden changes in water temperature, as well as the proliferation of fish pens along the rivers.
During the day, the weather becomes extremely hot and river water warms up. Rain then cools the water abruptly, stressing the fish, Luisito said. He also cited neap tides, when the difference between high and low water levels is minimal, as a possible contributing factor.
Aristotle also blamed the proliferation of allegedly illegal fish pens in the Bonuan area, saying these structures obstruct water flow into inner river channels.
As of Monday, the city’s FARMC had no data on the number of fish pens operating in Dagupan, Luisito said.
