Sorsogon fishers demand compensation for damaged cages
Fisherfolk in Sorsogon City have asked for compensation after their fish nets and mussel farms were destroyed by a barge that partly capsized in their water during the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine” (international name: Trami) on Oct. 22.
Fisherman Victor Janoras said the bamboo poles and light materials used in their stationary bag nets and green mussel culture farm in Barangay Rizal were damaged by the barge while it was being tossed around by the big waves along Sorsogon Bay, a rich fishing ground completely surrounded by Sorsogon province.
The barge, which was carrying 8,839.99 metric tons of coal, broke off from its mooring in the bay’s water off Barangay Buenavista of the city past 9 p.m. of Oct. 22 and was dragged into the sea before it tilted and partly capsized at the vicinity of Barangay Bucalbucalan, about 2.28 nautical miles from the village’s port.
Janoras, also an agri-technician in the city, said the destroyed fish farms owned by four persons were located between the villages of Buenavista and Bucalbucalan.
Muddy canal
When they checked their farms on Oct. 23, all the structures were wiped out, including their power generator sets and nets.
“When we conducted an assessment, using a compressor at the bottom, we found out that there was a canal that formed in the muddy ground of the sea, and it was evident that [the barge] created it,” Janoras said in a phone interview on Sunday.
Janoras was confident that Kristine or any typhoon could not easily destroy his farm because they used quality materials during its construction.
He said the management of the vessel was negligent because the barge was not properly anchored when Kristine was battering the Bicol region.
He said he reported the incident to the village officials, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and other government offices to demand at least half of the P200,000 damage caused to his farm.
In a report on Saturday, the PCG said the barge, which was from Antique, was a nonpropelled cargo ship with no engine, hence, there was no expected oil spill in the area. The tugboat pulling the barge was anchored in another part of Sorsogon when the incident happened.
Dark line
The PCG said as of Sunday, the shipping company, through a salvage operator, started to transfer the coal left on barge to another vessel.
The barge would be pulled out from the area once afloat, the PCG said.
The PCG said they found a 500-meter dark line in the bay that formed due to the coal spilled in the seawater.
Rowena Briones, spokesperson of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Bicol, said the Environment Management Bureau Bicol has collected water samples in the spill site for a comprehensive water quality analysis.
Briones said they were also investigating the possible cause of the fish kill around the area, which was also detected after the onslaught of Kristine.
