Massive clean-up campaign needed to revive mussel industry

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)