BFAR adapts to El Niño threat, implements mitigation measures

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources said on Tuesday that the production of freshwater species such as tilapia, bangus (milkfish), and shrimp is susceptible to the effects of the onslaught of El Niño projected to prevail until May this year.

In a radio interview, a BFAR key official said that land-based aquaculture systems are vulnerable to the weather phenomenon.

“The freshwater fishponds—those are the ones that will be hit. So we at BFAR can't neglect that; our interventions are prepositioned for them,” said fisheries spokesperson and head of the information and fisherfolk coordination unit, Nazario Briguera.

Briguera said that to avoid a gap in production and fish supply, the government has expanded the operation of mariculture parks, which are not that prone to the adverse effects of El Niño.

He went on by explaining that mariculture parks are the ones that can be seen on the lakes, sea, and coast where fishponds and fish cages are located.

“So what we are saying is that because there is a threat of El Niño, we must follow good aquaculture practices,” he noted.

“What does this mean? Because it is easy for the water level to drop because it is hot, the rate of evaporation is high, so when we put semen in the fishponds, it should be the right amount only so that the fish do not have tight competition for dissolved oxygen,” he explained.

Moreover, the BFAR official noted that so far, they are not seeing a lack in fish supply, citing that the government's mitigation measures are in place.

“So far, we have not received any serious reports that there has actually been a shortage or a negative impact [of El Niño]. This is also because of our prompt dissemination of information to our fish farmers [about] what they should do in preparation for El Niño.”

Earlier this week, Briguera said that the country's fisheries production has been on an upswing since 2018, after declining for approximately ten years.

He, however, noted a decrease in production in 2020 due to the pandemic.

“We have seen that the trend of our fisheries production has changed, and this is a good sign that the conservation measures we are taking are having results, and the interventions that the government is giving increase our fisheries production and develop it, and, of course, it means the development of the livelihood of our fishermen,” he said in a televised interview.

Last year, Briguera said that the local aquatic production increased in the first, third, and fourth quarters of 2023.

Meanwhile, a reduction was seen in the second quarter, where a -11.10 was recorded.

“But overall, although what we have is still negative, we lowered it to -1.80, but we can attribute it to the operational cost,” Briguera noted, adding that the increase in fuel prices and unfavorable weather conditions played a big part in Filipino fishermen's operations, leading to a decrease in last year's local production.

“But, as I said earlier, it's still good because I said that for ten years the trend was downward, but in 2018 we started to go up the trend of fisheries production.