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Several Fish Species in the Philippines in Deep Danger
A lot of fish species already disappeared in the waters of the Philippines, according to an environmental group last Friday.
According to fishermen, 59 coral reefs species are no longer to be seen since the 1950’s and was also examined by a study conducted by Haribon, one of the Philippines’ oldest conservation groups, and Britain’s Newcastle University.
Findings were derived from the interviews of approximately 2,600 fishermen across the Philippines, which have one of the largest concentrations of marine species world.
“These species are usually served in restaurants, swimming around in aquariums. They command a high price. If you have lots of mouths to feed, you need lots of fish to catch,” dela Rosa, told AFP.
The Philippine’s population is changing in a fast paced setting and has grown to more than 100 million people from about 20 million in the 1950’s.
De la Rosa also said that Demand from China pressured the local market.
“It has a very big impact because most of our fish are exported to China, also Singapore and Hong Kong. The groupers are highly priced, especially the red ones which are in demand in Chinese wedding (receptions),” he said.
Even though dynamite and cyanide fishing are already illegal, many still use these, thus, depleting the fish stock of the waters.
The Philippines is part of the Coral Triangle, an area of water spanning Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Timor Leste and the Solomon Islands that is known as the global centre of marine biodiversity.
