THE VIEW from bridges traversing Dagupan City and several Pangasinan towns is changing—the waters are clear and clean, and fishing boats sail unimpeded. Even the breeze seems fresher.
It was a much different sight a few months back when the rivers choked from the maze of fish pens, cages and traps. Navigating was difficult and fishermen were deprived of fishing grounds.
But the rivers are starting to breathe again, cleared of fishery structures that had occupied almost every available space.
In Dagupan, around 90 percent of the structures are gone, records from the city agriculture office show. Emma Molina, city agriculture officer, says only fish traps remain, but these will be dismantled soon when dredging machines reach their areas.
Removal of the fishery structures in Dagupan’s rivers started in October last year. As of December 30, 2010, a total of 927 pens and other structures had been dismantled, either by their owners or by the city government.
Mayor Benjamin Lim has imposed a moratorium in the issuance of aquaculture lease agreements “in hopes of letting the river system recover from further environmental degradation” and to give way to dredging operations.
The rivers are the Salapingao-Dupo to Centro, Patogcawen in Dawel, Tanap and Pugaro, which have been declared critical because sections of the waterways have become shallow (with water levels less than a meter deep).
“We hope to recover three to four meters in terms of water depth once the dredging operations are completed. It will take about a year to dredge the three main branches of our river system, operating at normal conditions, and both [dredging] machines working at the same time. We will not stop until we have reached our objective,” Lim says.
The provincial government aims to bring back the rivers’ beauty and productivity and to help control flooding when the rains come.
Tommy Cabigas, deputy head of the Task Force Kalikasan, says the main rivers and tributaries in Binmaley, Lingayen and Bugallon towns have also been cleared of illegal structures.
Task force members are conducting similar operations in the rivers of San Carlos City, and San Fabian and Labrador towns, and are helping dredge the Salapingao River in Dagupan. “So far, we have cleared a total of 110 kilometers,” Cabigas says.
No easy job
Clearing the rivers is no easy job even if the task force has policemen as members, he says.
“After we dismantle fish structures and we have turned our backs, the owners try to reconstruct them, especially the fish traps. We had to confiscate their nets and even filed cases against four operators in Binmaley and two in Lingayen for their refusal to remove their structures. A task force member was also stabbed while he was resting,” Cabigas says.
But their efforts are paying off. Residents and visitors notice the improvement in the waterways.
In Dagupan, Lim says fishermen are starting to reap the benefits from the removal of fishery structures.
“More fish are able to swim upstream and are being caught by our local fishermen. Fishermen have increased their daily income from P200 to P300 to as much as P500 to P600,” he says, citing interviews conducted by the city agriculture office.
Some 100 km in western Pangasinan, Anda and Bolinao are likewise dismantling fish pens at the Kakiputan Channel, which the two towns share. The channel, which is regularly hit by massive fish kills, has become polluted.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) gave financial assistance for the demolition in western Pangasinan—P1.2 million for Bolinao, P400,000 for Anda, P226,000 for Bani, and P180,000 for Alaminos City.
With the assistance, local governments would have no more reasons not to demolish and remove the illegal structures, says Nestor Domenden, BFAR regional director.
He says the bureau has long recommended the reduction of cages and dismantling of pens at the Kakiputan Channel and rivers. The agency also urged aquaculture players to follow guidelines on distance between structures, stocking density and feeding to avoid fish kills and pollution.
“In the long run, the regulated and efficient farm operations will result in better production and cleaner environment,” Domenden says.
Source: Philippine Daily INquirer
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