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Dams, mines deplete Cordi fish yield

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet (July 26) — Regional officials of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) during the Kapihan sa Benguet here, said that dams and mines along the major rivers in the Cordillera have adversely affected the region’s fishery resources.

Dam construction particularly caused the depletion of the migrant species of riverine fish, which hatch along the coastal areas, according to fishery experts.

BFAR-CAR’s Dr. Rebecca G. Dang-awan, regional director, said that likewise, mines are not good for the fish. She said particularly that mercury is not good for fish and the environment.

Responding to a media inquiry on the impact of mines on fisheries, Dang-awan said it is an environmental question which her colleagues in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources have to answer. Nevertheless, Dang-awan revealed that a BFAR study on carp showed traces of mercury, despite the fact that the said fish species stays and feeds on the surface while mercury is a heavy metal supposedly suspended at the bottom of affected ponds and riverbeds.

Siltation, according to Benguet Fishery Officer Pino M. Wakit, has adversely affected fish production along the Agno riverbank areas such as Tinongdan in Itogon town. These areas are below the former Benguet Mine District where Itogon Suyoc Mines, Inc. and Benguet Corporation used to mine. To date, only Philex Mining Corporation is gainfully engaged in mining activities in Itogon and Tuba towns.

STARM Case study: Lepanto’s impact on the Abra River

Lepanto Consolidated Mining Corporation’s (Lepanto) operations are similarly affecting fish yields along the Abra River, which goes down to Ilocos Sur and Abra provinces, the environmental group Save the Abra River Movement (STARM) said.

From interviews conducted by STARM, loss of aquatic and plant life in the areas downstream, is reportedly most visible from Camay to Besayot in Mankayan, Benguet.

Information from APIT-TAKO (Alliance of Peasants in the Cordillera Homeland) has it that when Lepanto started a fishpond project in Camay in March 2001, all the fingerlings died after only four days. It is common knowledge among Besayot fishpond-owners that if their ponds become contaminated with water from the Mankayan River, 80% of the fingerlings will die as compared to the usual 20% or less.

Aquatic organisms like the udang (shrimp) and igat (eel) are reportedly becoming rare. Residents observe fish disease and deterioration, aside from a drop in fish catch.

Interviews similarly revealed abnormalities in fish caught downstream, with the local people referring to the deformity as “kurikong”. Fisher folk near the mouth of the Abra River at Vigan and at Bantay, Ilocos Sur report making the same observation since six (6) years ago.

The fish kill that occurs every rainy season is a familiar story to most of the villages. On Good Friday 2003, fish kills were reported in Quirino, Ilocos Sur. On 17 May 2003, another fish kill was reported in Manabo, Luba and Tubo, Abra.

The loss in aquatic life is a major change in the life support system of the communities who used to rely solely on freshwater resources for day-to-day food.

Dams closed down the gates to the coasts

Aside from siltation and heavy metal and chemical effluents from mining operations, upstream fish production is also affected by the construction of dams in the river systems. Mining companies build dams to contain tailings while hydro-electric power plants build dams to get enough pressure to run turbines.

Wakit, concurrently the officer in charge of the regional fisheries management division, also blames dam-builders and planners who did not provide “fish ladders” and caused the depletion of river fish.

“Some fish species found in the Agno River and other Cordillera rivers like igat and ludong have dwindled in number because there are no fish ladders that are necessary components of any dam project,” Wakit explained. “I don’t know if the previous dam planners are aware of that,” he added.

Dang-awan corroborated saying that dams closed the gates to the coastal areas where the migratory fish go to hatch and produce fingerlings.

“Ang mga ito ay di nanganganak sa (These do not lay eggs in) inland waters,” Dang-awan points out, “lumalaki lang sila sa mga ilog,” (They just grow in rivers). She said that they hatch along the seacoasts and later travel upstream. Due to the dams, less and less of these fish varieties find their way into the cleavage in dams that only a few are now seen upstream, according to Dang-awan.

“It’s now like survival of the fittest,” says Dang-awan of the eels and ludong.

While Dang-awan refused to comment on the environmental impact of mining on fishery and marine resources, she was vocal about the dam-builders’ lapses by not coordinating with the BFAR the plans of dam construction. She revealed that no dams in the country have the necessary fish ladder.

“I can’t say if these dam builders do not know that once a dam is constructed, fish start to deplete if there are no fish ladders provided,” Dang-awan told the tri-media, adding “or it may be because of austerity reasons.”

The Cordillera, according to fishery officials, is the only landlocked region that its fish resources are taken from its limited surface water resources. Its biggest fish yield comes from Lamut, Ifugao, where the Magat dam submerged a considerable area. Dang-awan said that the region is ironically the water cradle of the north but these sources are deep under the ground.

Ambuclao and Binga dams in Benguet also provide freshwater fish such as carp and tilapia but, according to Dang-awan, the volume produced in these dams still do not warrant fair competition with lowland tilapia in terms of price per kilo of fish.

In Baguio City, fish vendors from Ambuklao in Bokod town, sell in places where the lowland-raised tilapias are not visible, Dang-awan observes. Ambuklao tilapia sells at P85-P100 per kilo while those from Pangasinan, Bulacan and La Union sell at P45-P70 per kilo. # Lyn V. Ramo for NORDIS

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