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| Fishpen established on damaged fishpond in Hagonoy. Dino Balabo |
HAGONOY, Bulacan—Fisherfolk and pond operators in this coastal town expressed apprehension over increasing damage on fishponds on the coast of Manila Bay.
They
said that Manila Bay is expanding and creeping inland as pond dikes which serve
as buffer to inland communities continue to deteriorate.
Local
officials estimated that at least 800 hectares of private fishponds has been
damaged in the last three years.
This
is in addition to more than 400 hectares of propius or municipal fishpond that
started to deteriorate in 2007.
One
of the effects of continuing degradation of fishpond dikes is the conversion of
fishponds into fishpens, especially those that fronting the Manila Bay.
Louie
Libao, head of the municipal fisheries officer of this town told the STAR
that big times fishpond operators
resorts to conversion to recover their investment.
He
explained that many fishpond operators are just renting the pond from private
owners.
Rent
contract usually ranges from five years or more, and it includes regular
maintenance and rehabilitation of pond dikes.
Libao
said that pond renters are always racing to protect their fish stocks but are
also usually over taken by events like typhoons that generates storm surges
that washes out pond dikes.
“They
have investment to protect and recover, so, they converted the fishpond into
fishpens,” Libao said while pointing at tall nets attached to bamboo poles
inside the damaged pond dikes in Barangay San Roque here.
However,
he said that some pond renters started to remove parts of the old dikes for water
to easily flow.
Libao
said that the pond conversion into fishpens started about three years ago when
pond renters gave up on rehabilitation of pond dikes fronting the Manila Bay.
A
former municipal councilor, Libao said they have ratified a number of
resolution and ordinances in relation to coastal resources management, but it
was not implemented by the previous municipal administrations.
The
non-implementation of local laws now proved costly as it resulted in the
degradation of fishpond dikes.
Incumbent
councilor Elmer Santos on the other hand said that they are now crafting an
ordinance that will regulate operations of fishpens.
However,
he said that are still waiting for the results of laboratory tests on water samples they
submitted to the Department of Science and Technology.
Santos
explained that the laboratory results will be one of the basis for the
ordinance, noting possible contribution of fishpen operations to municipal
waters.
As
this developed, fishpen operators said they are willing to obey possible
regulations that will be imposed by the local government.
They
even said that they are willing to stop operations of fishpen by they demanded
one condition.
That
is for the local government to rehabilitated damaged fishpond dikes fronting
the Manila Bay.
The
said pond dikes served as protection for local fishponds here for generations.
However,
said dikes were washed out by storm surges because mangrove forests were
reduces to patches leaving the dikes wide open to waves and storm surges. Dino Balabo