More than 800 tons of fish have died and rotted on fish farms in a lake near Taal volcano south of Manila, with authorities blaming it on a sudden temperature drop. The massive fish deaths started late last week but have eased. Officials have banned the sale of the rotting fish, which are being buried by the truckload in Talisay and three other towns in Batangas province, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources official Rose del Mundo said Sunday. The deaths are unrelated to recent signs of restiveness in Taal volcano, which is surrounded by the lake where many villagers have grown milkfish and tilapia — staple foods for many Filipinos, officials said. The volcano and lake are a popular tourist draw. Government volcanologist Allan Loza said Monday that 115 earthquakes were detected in Taal in the past 24 hours compared to an average of 10 to 15 quakes daily in recent weeks, a sign that magma is rising from within the small volcano. Such unrest has been monitored since April, long before last week's fish deaths, he said. Talisay agricultural officer Zenaida Macatangay said an initial investigation showed the deaths may have been caused by the temperature change as the rainy season set in last week after a scorching summer, which also depleted the lake's oxygen levels. Schools of fish were seen swimming in circles before they floated dead to the surface in huge numbers. The deaths have occurred in the past at summer's end but in much smaller numbers, Mendoza said. Some Taal lake areas turned white due to the massive numbers of dead milk-colored fish. Workers covered their noses with their hands or clothing Sunday as they scooped up the rotting fish and placed them into sacks. "Many were sad and devastated because they invested a lot in these fish cages," Talisay Mayor Zenaida Mendoza told The Associated Press by telephone. More than 400 tons of milkfish have died in Talisay alone since Friday in 84 out of about 1,000 fish pens — lake areas about half the size of a basketball court that are fenced off by bamboo poles and nets. Damage has been estimated at $770,000 (33 million pesos), Mendoza said. About 400 tons more have died in the other towns Source:- http://hosted2.ap.org/COGRA/APWorld...ting-Fish/id-7db1c072e0734104b85559a2f74a3a02
Fish kill also hits Bolinao About one-and-a-half truckloads of dead milkfish or bangus were buried in this coastal town at noon yesterday. Mayor Alfonso Celeste told The STAR he received a report yesterday morning that fish kill originating from nearby Anda town had hit Bolinao, 280 kilometers north of Manila, on Sunday. “We got a report that some dead bangus were brought by the current downstream to our town so some people thought we were severely hit again by fish kill,” he said. In Batangas, Talisay town continued to reel from the drowning of bangus over the weekend. Talisay Mayor Zenaida Mendoza said many fish had died in Taal lake, 51 kms south of Manila. “Fishermen are hauling them manually using their boats, and bringing them ashore,” she said. “But the rotting smell is overpowering and could pose a health risk” Celeste said he has a standing order that in case of fishkill, caretakers must not dump the dead fish into the sea to avoid pollution. Fred Castelo, municipal administrator of Bolinao, said water current carried the dead fish from Anda through the Cacquiputan channel. He had called up the mayor of Anda town and told him to dispose of the dead fish properly, he added. Castelo said he could not give a conservative estimate yet as to the extent of damage as dead bangus are continuously being hauled as of press time. The affected areas are in barangays Culang and Luna, the narrow portions of the channel in Bolinao, he added. Castelo said the damage was minimal as they had been demolishing fishpens along the Caquiputan channel for the past two months. “It’s already regulated here,” he said. Dr. Westly Rosario, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) chief in Dagupan City, said they warned a few weeks ago that fishkill might occur in Anda and Bolinao because oxygen was almost zero in the water. It is bad for the bangus when sudden heavy rains cause temperatures to cool at the surface, in contrast with the hot temperature of the water at the bottom, he added. The bangus in western Pangasinan, particularly in Anda and Bolinao, comprise 50 percent of what is traded in Metro Manila, Rosario said. In June last year, P100-million worth of bangus was estimated to have been lost due to fishkill along Cacquiputan channel between Bolinao and Anda. In 2001, the biggest fishkill happened in Bolinao when about P400-million worth of bangus were killed. In 2007, another P100-million worth of bangus was also lost to fishkill in the channel. Several lakeside towns on Monday were struggling to cope with mountains of rotting fish. The BFAR said more than 750 tons of fish had died since Friday in Taal lake. The fishkill hit several towns whose economies are heavily reliant on the fishing industry. Scientists said the onset of the rainy season led to a sharp drop in water temperatures that depleted oxygen levels in the lake. Most of those killed were milkfish and tilapia being commercially bred in cages along the lake’s shores. Talisay is one of the towns most affected by the fishkill. Mayor Mendoza said sanitation and health officials were working to properly dispose of the dead fish. However, due to a lack of suitable sites to bury the hundreds of tons of fish carcasses, much of the dead fish are exposed. Taal rumbling nothing to do with fishkill The fishkill has nothing to do with the rumbling of of Taal volcano, according to volcanologists. The volcano lies in the middle of the lake and has been rumbling for over a month. Renato Solidum, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) director, told The STAR lack of oxygen was responsible for a fishkill in Taal lake. “Taal’s activity is not related to the reported fishkills in Taal lake, which is most likely due to overturn of oxygen depleted bottom waters, which rose to the upper water levels,” he said. The oxygen depletion at the bottom of the water usually happens due to decomposition of organic matter like plants and feeds, Solidum said. Earthquakes in Taal lake A total of 115 volcanic earthquakes were recorded at Taal in the past 24 hours. Phivolcs said 12 of these volcanic quakes were felt at Intensities 1 to 4 by residents of Pira-piraso, Alas-as and Calauit at the northeast, southwest, and southeast sectors of the volcano island. “All of these felt events were reportedly accompanied by rumbling sounds,” Phivolcs said. Phivolcs maintains Alert Level 2 over the restive Taal volcano. “This means that magma has been intruding towards the surface, as indicated by the continuing high level of seismic activity and sustained high emission rate of CO2 being released in the main crater lake,” it said. Solidum said they are maintaining the alert level status for Taal volcano at alert level 2 as the criteria for alert level 3 are not observed yet. “The significant increase in number and felt earthquake events should remind residents of Taal volcano island of Taal’s abnormal condition that should be prepared for,” he said Source:- http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=691485&publicationSubCategoryId=63
