LLDA acts to rid Laguna Lake of janitor fish

Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), an agency attached to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, launched recently a competition to rid Laguna de Bay and its tributaries of the so-called janitor fish.

Held last April 18 in Siniloan, Laguna and participated in by more than 100 fishermen, the activity resulted in the hauling out of the lake 7,260 kilos of janitor fish. Star Anvil Trading, a company that will turn the janitor fish into liquid fertilizer, bought the fish at P10 per kilo. The biggest catch weighed 1.3 kilos and the fisherman who captured it received P2,000 worth of groceries.

LLDA experts said laboratory analysis shows that janitor fish has heavy metal content, making it unfit for human consumption. Aside from being inedible, it has been proven detrimental also to the "bangus" and "tilapia" as its population has been increasing faster than these fishes.

LLDA general manager Edgardo C. Manda said his office is working out an agreement with the lake stakeholders and some private entities in the selling of this "lake pests". He cited Feed Miller, a private manufacturing firm, which has expressed intent on buying them on bulk arrangements.

Manda added that from now on the fishermen in the bay do not have to worry about janitor fish. "In fact, we are expecting more groups to sail the Laguna de Bay not to fish for bangus and tilapia, but to haul janitor fishes for commercial disposal to the fertilizer manufacturing firms" he said. He declined, however, to make any speculative statement as to how much the fishermen could sell the janitor fish. "I am not at liberty to say how much Feed Miller will buy these janitor fish catches, but one thing is certain, janitor fishes are no longer pests, but income for our fishermen", he further said. Furthermore, he also said that the Agency has already forged an agreement with other government units within the Laguna de Bay region relative to the rapid population growth of the janitor fish.

"The LLDA recognizes the urgency and importance of the janitor fish threat, and that is exactly why we are working doubly hard in maintaining the ecological and economic equilibrium of the Laguna de Bay."

Laguna de Bay, Asia’s second largest freshwater basin is the source of roughly 70 percent of Metro Manila’s freshwater fish demand, hence LLDA ensures that its productivity is sustained. — Benny Enriquez