LINGAYEN, Pangasinan—The fishery industry in this capital town of Pangasinan is under serious threat from El Niño.
Edgar Sison, president of the Lingayen Federation of Fisherfolk Organizations Inc., said about 60 percent of the rivers in the town already dried up due to the effect of El Niño, resulting in low production of fish.
He aired this concern during the LIFFO First General Assembly held at the Pangasinan Training and Development Center Saturday.
He said, “Our agenda include discussions on how to address El Niño and how to seek assistance from concerned agencies.”
“Compared to other sectors, only a small share of assistance reaches our industry,” he added.
Sison disclosed that at present, El Niño poses the biggest threat to their industry.
They have requested the provincial government and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to provide them water pumps to ensure water in their fishponds.
Meanwhile, BFAR provincial fishery officer Glicerio Legaspi said consultative meetings were being conducted to plan for the dredging of rivers to address El Niño.
Legaspi added that the BFAR provincial office was also monitoring illegal fishing in Pangasinan.
“We have patrol boats going around the provincial waters— West Philippine Sea and Lingayen Gulf—guarding against illegal fishing,” he said.
Still, Legaspi said the province remained the top fishery-producer in the country.
During the assembly, Legaspi disclosed the agency’s priority programs to aid the fisherfolk.
These projects include the National Shellfish Program, provision of fishery gears and paraphernalia, techno-demo projects, GAD (Gender and Development)-livelihood program, and Mangrove Enhancement Program.
The provincial government, through the Provincial Agriculturist Office, has vowed to provide help to the fishery industry.