LLDA resumes fish pen demolition

MANILA, Philippines - The demolition of fish pens in Laguna de Bay resumed yesterday.

Personnel of the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), Philippine National Police-Maritime Group, Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard dismantled fish pens in areas covering Binangonan and Cardona in Rizal.

Jaime Medina, LLDA general manager, said they would prioritize those owned by large corporations with violations.

Medina said there are about 30 fish pen owners that operate based on old permits or outside designated areas and are delinquent in payment. These fish pens occupy more than 1,000 hectares of the lake.

“We target to cover at least five hectares a day,” he said, adding that they expect to dismantle all illegal fish pens before President Duterte’s State of the Nation Address in July.

The LLDA earlier passed Resolution 518  giving  fish pen owners  and operators until the end of March to harvest their stocks and demolish their structures.              

Medina said fish pens covering only a hectare or less would not be dismantled.              

The LLDA started its clearing operations on Jan. 26, more than a month after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources declared a one-year moratorium on the issuance of permits to fish pen and cage operators.

Records show that fish pens occupy almost 13,000 hectares of the bay, whose carrying capacity is only around 9,000 hectares.