Environment-related issues have
been more rampant and have become more magnified during the past few years.
Most of these are noted to be anthropogenic. Because of the losses and the
growing concern for environmental welfare, scientists, the community, and the
concerned government agencies alike have been more keen and vigilant about the
things that are going on.
Having a vast coastline, which
translates to abundance in aquatic resources, studies about fisheries and other
organisms have also been becoming popular considering how vulnerable these
ecosystems can be.
Among the many efforts to enhance the fishing industry are the studies made which focus on fishkills. An example to this is the Pre-Community Forum 2012: Special Fishkill Seminar. It took place on August 24, 2012 at the University of the Philippines, Los Banos.
Since fishkills also happen not just in the Philippines, the organizers of the event invited Zen’ichiro Kawabata from Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN) of Japan. He presented his study on “Analysis for Understanding Fishkill Experiences in Japan.”
The primary objective of including the presentation of Kawabata’s study during the seminar was to somehow share to the Filipinos what has been happening in Japan, and to let us learn from their mistakes.
In general, the malpractices in Japan which resulted to fishkill are also true in the Philippine context. Eutrophication and red tide are still the major culprits for the massive deaths of fishes. As a way to dilute the nutrient-rich bay waters, Japanese opens the watergate to flash out the water into the sea. They strongly recommend low population density for ponds and cages. They also advise owners of artificial ponds to change the water regularly so to avoid the presence of dense algal bloom. They have admitted that the measures seem easy, however due to political conflicts, resolving the issue becomes unnecessarily harder. Kawabata specifically stressed the importance of citizen’s awareness.
What’s good about the seminar was that the organizers invited representatives from biophysical science, health department, LLDA, and an expert to comment for institutional perspective. They were given a chance to say something about their stand and to share updates in behalf of their respective institutions. The voices of the fisherfolks were also heard during the open forum.
Based on the exchange of comments and thoughts during the seminar, I still personally believe that rehabilitating Laguna de Bay is indeed a mission impossible due to its complexity and broadness of the scope. However, the concern and the love of the people for the lake were too obvious to ignore that they seem to be the string of hope and lifeline for the said ecosystem.
Through the combined efforts of the stakeholders, everyone is hopeful to finally get rid of fishkills from occurring. Driven by this goal, the holding of seminar continues to take place in different areas, targeting more crowds. The goal of preventing fishkills from happening and enriching the Philippine fisheries are definitely worth the effort and time.
Among the many efforts to enhance the fishing industry are the studies made which focus on fishkills. An example to this is the Pre-Community Forum 2012: Special Fishkill Seminar. It took place on August 24, 2012 at the University of the Philippines, Los Banos.
Since fishkills also happen not just in the Philippines, the organizers of the event invited Zen’ichiro Kawabata from Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN) of Japan. He presented his study on “Analysis for Understanding Fishkill Experiences in Japan.”
The primary objective of including the presentation of Kawabata’s study during the seminar was to somehow share to the Filipinos what has been happening in Japan, and to let us learn from their mistakes.
In general, the malpractices in Japan which resulted to fishkill are also true in the Philippine context. Eutrophication and red tide are still the major culprits for the massive deaths of fishes. As a way to dilute the nutrient-rich bay waters, Japanese opens the watergate to flash out the water into the sea. They strongly recommend low population density for ponds and cages. They also advise owners of artificial ponds to change the water regularly so to avoid the presence of dense algal bloom. They have admitted that the measures seem easy, however due to political conflicts, resolving the issue becomes unnecessarily harder. Kawabata specifically stressed the importance of citizen’s awareness.
What’s good about the seminar was that the organizers invited representatives from biophysical science, health department, LLDA, and an expert to comment for institutional perspective. They were given a chance to say something about their stand and to share updates in behalf of their respective institutions. The voices of the fisherfolks were also heard during the open forum.
Based on the exchange of comments and thoughts during the seminar, I still personally believe that rehabilitating Laguna de Bay is indeed a mission impossible due to its complexity and broadness of the scope. However, the concern and the love of the people for the lake were too obvious to ignore that they seem to be the string of hope and lifeline for the said ecosystem.
Through the combined efforts of the stakeholders, everyone is hopeful to finally get rid of fishkills from occurring. Driven by this goal, the holding of seminar continues to take place in different areas, targeting more crowds. The goal of preventing fishkills from happening and enriching the Philippine fisheries are definitely worth the effort and time.
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