Over one thousand hectares of unutilized areas of Laguna Lake will be opened to cater to those who are willing and interested in engaging in the aquaculture business, said the Laguna Lake Development Authority.

"The carrying capacity of the lake is 9,200 hectares for captive fishing. There are areas there that are not occupied," said LLDA department management Engr. Jun Paul Mistica on Friday.

Mistica said that opening a portion of the lake will boost food production, particularly fish harvests, especially during the onset of El Niño.

"In that way, food production will increase in Laguna Lake because more than a thousand hectares will be filled with fish, so it will help our food production," he said. "We are in the right season now; the fish will grow, El Niño is coming, and we have a lot of fish.”

The LLDA said unused areas of the lake will open in the months and noted that investors might require some time to establish their aqua structures. Areas to be open are on the western corridor of the lake near the Pasig River.

Last week, the Department of Agriculture announced its plans to maximize Laguna de Bay’s aquaculture potential to secure bigger fish harvests and make its prices lower, particularly by bringing bangus (milkfish) value to P50–P70 per kilo.

According to the LLDA, bangus is not native to the said bay.

"Our endemic species, which is bangus, is not really endemic to Laguna Lake. It's just been introduced. It came from the sea, from the coast.”

Based on their data, the lake provides 80% of bangus in Metro Manila.

Besides milkfish, among the fish cultivated in Laguna Lake are white goby, mudfish, ayungin, catfish, kanduli, tilapia, and the common carp.