Central Visayas Fisher Folks Still ‘Unaffected’ by El Niño – BFAR 7

(PNA) — Fisher folks in Central Visayas have so far been “unaffected” by the continuing high temperature brought by the El Niño phenomenon, an official said.

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) 7 Director Andres Bojos said they have not received any concerns yet from fish farmers.

Bojos said the hot weather might simply bring minimal effects to the fishing industry, particularly to the aquaculture sector.

“So far, we did not receive reports yet since there are no cases sent to our office. Hopefully, they were not affected,” he said.

But he said that if the dry spell would drag on for months, the country’s aquaculture industry, the farming of fish, crustaceans and mollusks, among others, would be affected.

He said some mountain residents who are into aquaculture by using freshwater would sooner or later be affected by the lack of rainfall.

Bojos said a prolonged El Niño would impact on the waters of the often shallow aquatic farms.

But he said there are fewer freshwater aquatic farms in the provinces of Cebu and Bohol compared to the number of suppliers of aquaculture products from fish ponds.

According to BFAR 7, there are around 400 registered fishpond lease holders in Central Visayas.

“We already reminded them (fish farmers) to retain a water level that is more than one meter deep. If they can’t maintain that level, the brackish water could be easily affected by the high temperature,” he said. (PNA) FFC/RCK/EB/EDS