Philippines: Cavite fish kill has no impact on the fishing industry

The recent fish kill incident in Cavite will have no impact on the fishing industry, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said on Thursday. During a public briefing, BFAR Information and Fisherfolk Coordination Unit Head Nazario Briguera said analysis and testing by the bureau revealed that the fish kill resulted from an algal bloom, which depleted oxygen levels in the water. An algal bloom is a natural phenomenon often caused by the rapid or continuous change in water temperature, which causes the increase of microalgae in water and depletes the dissolved oxygen for fish. According to the BFAR official, most of the observed fish kill were Blackchin Tilapia, locally known as Arroyo, which has no commercial value. “Ang isda naman kasi po may natural coping mechanism, they can swim away from the affected area so marahil yung ibang isda, they have swam away from the affected area at yun lang naman yung mostly tinamaan na Blackchin Tilapia,” Briguera said. (Fish have a ...