Authorities confirmed over the weekend another incident of fish kill in Taal Lake in Batangas province, resulting in losses of about P33.6 million worth of milkfish.
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources regional director for Calabarzon Sammy Malvas told ABS-CBN News that 30 tons of milkfish died in fish cages in Talisay, Batangas.
A fish kill occurs as a result of decreased oxygen levels in the lake and increased production of toxins.
Malvas denied that the fishkill had something to do with the renewed activity of Taal Volcano. He said the sudden change in climate from hot temperature early last week to rainy days likely caused the latest episode of the fishkill.
The rain also resulted in muddy waters of Taal Lake. Locals refer to this phenomenon as “duong” or the change in water quality.
Malvas said that based on BFAR’s water sampling, the level of dissolved oxygen dropped to a range of 0.92 to 3.72 parts per million last week, below the healthy level of 5 PPM.
He said the agency was still monitoring the water quality of Taal Lake and could not tell when the situation would return to the normal level.
BFAR encouraged fish cage operators to harvest those that are ready for consumption.