published February 19, 2009 in BusinessWorld and GMANews.tv
TACLOBAN CITY — The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) will focus on a massive clean-up campaign in Jiabong, Samar early this year to revive the ailing mussel industry in the area.
Juan Albaladejo, BFAR regional director for Eastern Visayas, said mussel culture will be temporarily stopped in 1,000 hectares of foreshore area to give way to the clean-up drive.
"Jiabong’s mussel output is down 90%. White tide appears because phosphate and nitrites are still there in the seabed. These have caused another mussel kill," Mr. Albaladejo said.
The mussel kill was reported in November last year at the two-hectare techno demo farm established by the government.
The first mussel kill, which was reported in May to June last year, forced most mussel farms in Jiabong to stop operating.
It was traced to pollution caused by the stake method of mussel culture, or the use of bamboo poles to attract mussel spats.
The poles have worsened siltation in the area and caused poor water circulation leading to an increase in nitrogenous waste deposits.
Farmed mussels continuously exposed to hypoxic conditions become stressed because of critically low levels of oxygen and are susceptible to secondary microbial infections which may result in mass mortalities.
The fishermen have since started using the raft hanging method but the area has remained polluted.
"Even the newly established mariculture (marine agriculture) zone was affected. The pollution is worse as a result of more than 30 years of unsustainable mussel farming activities," Mr. Albaladejo said.
The mussel kill caused losses of P38 million, the BFAR said. The significant decline in harvest has affected at least 137 registered farmers in the top mussel-producing municipality.
A rehabilitation project was launched last year. As of this week, only 65 of 1,000 hectares have been cleared of rotting bamboo poles by divers.
The BFAR is responsible for 70% of the rehabilitation activities while the remaining 30% is shouldered by the local government. At least P250,000 has been spent to restore the 65 hectares.
"We will draw up a system to clean up the areas faster and at a lesser cost. If we don’t conduct a massive cleanup, the same problem will occur. If we can get this done in one month, the production will recuperate after six months," Mr. Albaladejo said.
Jiabong town is a major supplier of mussels for the country’s markets. It also serves as a central trading center for mussels that are shipped to Metro Manila, Davao City, Bicol, Cebu City and other parts of the country.
Aside from Jiabong town, other mussel-producing areas in the Maqueda Bay area in Samar are Villareal, Motiong, Tarangnan and Talalora.
Mussel kills have also been reported in these areas due to coastal dead zones, characterized by the lack of oxygen in the water.
Villareal town Mayor Renato Latorre said the waste from the upland area and households must have contributed to the formation of the coastal dead zone in the bay.
"All the waste from the mountain down to the lower lands goes directly to the sea with the absence of water treatment facility.
"I believe it’s not just the stake method that caused the pollution," Mr. Latorre said.
Maqueda Bay produced 10,616 metric tons of mussels worth P43.24 million in 2006. The mussel industry supports 651 households as well as traders, processors, bamboo splitters and transport operators in Samar. (Sarwell Q. Meniano)
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Intensified drive vs salmonella sought
published February 02, 2009 in BusinessWorld and GMANews.tv
TACLOBAN CITY– The Department of Agriculture has called on local government units in Eastern Visayas to intensify security measures after cases of salmonella infection have spread to this city and the island municipality of Daram in Samar province.
Local officials believed that the incident in nearby areas was triggered with transport of animals from the town of Sta. Rita in Samar where 760 pigs were affected.
To avert the problem, the quick response team of the Agriculture department recommended the following: a ban on the movement of pigs from infected to non-infected areas; isolation, treatment and therapy for infected animals; ban on slaughtering of sick pigs; and setting up checkpoints in strategic places.
"We have to make sacrifice this time. It is very risky to transport hogs from infected areas even those that are healthy," said Agriculture Regional Executive Director Leo Cañeda in a meeting with town mayors in the second district of Samar.
In a report, Agriculture officials confirmed that "most of the sick pigs from Sta. Rita town were slaughtered and some were sold to Tacloban City while dead carcasses were buried, thrown to the sea, rivers and canals."
Suspected cases
City veterinary office chief Eunice Alcantara said there were sporadic cases of suspected salmonella infection in some Tacloban villages last week.
"We cannot confirm that it’s salmonella infection. We’re not able to get samples since people resorted to early slaughter after animals have shown some symptoms of the disease," she told BusinessWorld.
Most of the reports are from the northern villages of the city. Checkpoints were set up in Diit village and Marasbaras district to check shipments from neighboring Leyte towns.
Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez earlier issued a notice to residents to report any occurrence of salmonella infection.
In Daram, Samar, municipal agriculturist Dolores Mustacisa said at least seven villages in their island municipality have reported cases of salmonella infection among backyard-raised pigs. An estimated 70 pigs have been infected.
"It was reported to us after people slaughtered their animals. People are not aware. We have strengthened our monitoring to get samples before the death of hogs with active cases," Ms. Mustacisa said.
The Agriculture department has imposed a ban on slaughtering of sick pigs as this would trigger the further spread of the animal disease. Improper disposal of leftover meat is one of the major factors attributing to the rising case of salmonella.
San Sebastian (Samar) Mayor Arnold Abalos said he has asked for vigilance among village officials.
"We have already conducted information dissemination to prevent the disease from affecting the livelihood of our swine raisers," said Talalora Mayor Cornelio Bersales.
Sta. Rita Mayor Lisandro Kim Adolfo said they have been asking for additional policemen to man checkpoints.
The Agriculture department said a total of 84 pigs have died and 676 others are infected.
The reported nearly 300 mortalities included those that were slaughtered, said Leo Mira of the regional animal quarantine office. - Sarwell Q. Meniano, BusinessWorld
TACLOBAN CITY– The Department of Agriculture has called on local government units in Eastern Visayas to intensify security measures after cases of salmonella infection have spread to this city and the island municipality of Daram in Samar province.
Local officials believed that the incident in nearby areas was triggered with transport of animals from the town of Sta. Rita in Samar where 760 pigs were affected.
To avert the problem, the quick response team of the Agriculture department recommended the following: a ban on the movement of pigs from infected to non-infected areas; isolation, treatment and therapy for infected animals; ban on slaughtering of sick pigs; and setting up checkpoints in strategic places.
"We have to make sacrifice this time. It is very risky to transport hogs from infected areas even those that are healthy," said Agriculture Regional Executive Director Leo Cañeda in a meeting with town mayors in the second district of Samar.
In a report, Agriculture officials confirmed that "most of the sick pigs from Sta. Rita town were slaughtered and some were sold to Tacloban City while dead carcasses were buried, thrown to the sea, rivers and canals."
Suspected cases
City veterinary office chief Eunice Alcantara said there were sporadic cases of suspected salmonella infection in some Tacloban villages last week.
"We cannot confirm that it’s salmonella infection. We’re not able to get samples since people resorted to early slaughter after animals have shown some symptoms of the disease," she told BusinessWorld.
Most of the reports are from the northern villages of the city. Checkpoints were set up in Diit village and Marasbaras district to check shipments from neighboring Leyte towns.
Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez earlier issued a notice to residents to report any occurrence of salmonella infection.
In Daram, Samar, municipal agriculturist Dolores Mustacisa said at least seven villages in their island municipality have reported cases of salmonella infection among backyard-raised pigs. An estimated 70 pigs have been infected.
"It was reported to us after people slaughtered their animals. People are not aware. We have strengthened our monitoring to get samples before the death of hogs with active cases," Ms. Mustacisa said.
The Agriculture department has imposed a ban on slaughtering of sick pigs as this would trigger the further spread of the animal disease. Improper disposal of leftover meat is one of the major factors attributing to the rising case of salmonella.
San Sebastian (Samar) Mayor Arnold Abalos said he has asked for vigilance among village officials.
"We have already conducted information dissemination to prevent the disease from affecting the livelihood of our swine raisers," said Talalora Mayor Cornelio Bersales.
Sta. Rita Mayor Lisandro Kim Adolfo said they have been asking for additional policemen to man checkpoints.
The Agriculture department said a total of 84 pigs have died and 676 others are infected.
The reported nearly 300 mortalities included those that were slaughtered, said Leo Mira of the regional animal quarantine office. - Sarwell Q. Meniano, BusinessWorld
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