Pollution threatens Bulacan aquaculture industry

The stakeholders, particularly prawn breeders, said the province's aqua-culture business is on the downward trend and blamed the deterioration of water quality as the main culprit.

Mila Lacap, BBL Sea Foods Consignacion manager in Hagonoy town, said aquaculture production, especially the lucrative prawn production, is greatly affected by the dirty waters now flowing along Bulacan's major waterways.

She said their costumers, who are mostly fishpond operators in Bulacan and Pampanga cited bad and poor water quality.

Lacap also disclosed that aside from prawn breed, prawn production is dependent on water quality.

"Dapat ay kumilos na ang gobyerno para iligtas ang industriya ng pamamalaisdaan (The government must act to save the aqua-culture industry)," she stressed.

Government support could be in form of policies on environmental protection, she added.

Other prawn producers in the province cited the over use of aqua feeds on milkfish or bangus production, which has adverse effects on marine life.

Fishpond operation is a century-old industry in Bulacan's coastal towns.

But it was in the 80s and 90s when aquaculture production peaked.

Fishpond operators said this was mainly due to the introduction of intensive fish farming that allows fishpond operators to have high stocking density in their ponds.

In the traditional fishpond operations, water on the pond is lesser than in intensive fish farming to allow the growing of "lablab" or planktons that serve as meals of milkfish.

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Source: Balita

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