By Leslie Anne Mahusay and Chris Navarro, 27th July 2015;
The lack of oxygen at the Pampanga River due to waste and water lilies are the possible causes of the fishkill in the municipality recently, Masantol Mayor Dan Guintu said on Monday.
“The test results on the water sample from Pampanga River last Friday showed that various types of fish lacked oxygen because of wastes and water lilies, not because of harmful chemicals dumped from factories,” Guintu said.
He said the recent rains in the country caused the waste and water lilies from different neighboring towns to gather in low areas of Masantol town.
“Yung mga basura na dahil sa baha halos sa amin lahat napupunta,” Guintu added.
He said that some towns in the province like San Luis, Apalit and Macabebe also experienced the fishkill but Masantol was seriously hit as it is surrounded by Pampanga River and Manila Bay.
The mayor pointed out that almost 10 barangays in Masantol were affected by the fishkill.
“We are now looking into help we can give to fishermen and their families because we ordered them not to fish at the Pampanga River for three days to avoid other incidents,” Guintu noted.
Guintu said that Governor Lilia Pineda also told the mayor that if there are other forms of assistance the provincial Capitol can give.
“Our governor told us to report on the total computation of the damages caused by the fishkill,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bajun Lacap, Pampanga coastal emergency response officer, said that Tilapia (Oreochromis sp.), Burasi (Common Carp) (Cyprinus carpio), Imelda (Bighead Carp) (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and Gloria (Black-chinned Tilapia) (Sarotherodon melanotheron) are some of the types of fish affected by the fishkill.
Philippines: Mayor: Waste, water lilies caused Masantol fishkill
Monday Morgue 