06 December 2005
Binmaley calls moratorium on fishpens
BINMALEY – The municipal government is seeking from its townsfolk a one-year moratorium in the operations of fish pens in order to restore the degraded ecosystems of various rivers and waterways and help maintain its reputation as aquaculture capital of Pangasinan.
Municipal Mayor Simplicio Rosario said the moratorium is expected to improve the quality of water which benefit all river stakeholders, including owners of over 3,200 hectares of fishponds.
“We are seeking our townmates cooperation to agree to this moratorium because this is the only way we can save our rivers from complete degradation,” Rosario said.
He said the poor quality of water in Binmaley, also regarded as the prawn capital of the province of Pangasinan, has spawned repeated fishkills every year, the most recent being in May this year when P16 million worth of fish were destroyed.
The river in Binmaley is connected to Dagupan City which gets its water through the river mouth separating the Dagupan City barangays of Pugaro and Bonuan Gueset.
“If we will remove our fish pens and the fishkill would still persist, we can only blame the pen owners in Dagupan City. Thus, we can file a class suit in order to stop their operations,” Rosario said.
He said that clean water must flow into fishponds which, he added, are no longer earning enough despite the fact that their owners are paying huge land taxes, compared to pen owners who are not paying any tax to the government.
Rosario acknowledged that there are today 2,431 fishpond operators in his town.
Municipal Mayor Simplicio Rosario said the moratorium is expected to improve the quality of water which benefit all river stakeholders, including owners of over 3,200 hectares of fishponds.
“We are seeking our townmates cooperation to agree to this moratorium because this is the only way we can save our rivers from complete degradation,” Rosario said.
He said the poor quality of water in Binmaley, also regarded as the prawn capital of the province of Pangasinan, has spawned repeated fishkills every year, the most recent being in May this year when P16 million worth of fish were destroyed.
The river in Binmaley is connected to Dagupan City which gets its water through the river mouth separating the Dagupan City barangays of Pugaro and Bonuan Gueset.
“If we will remove our fish pens and the fishkill would still persist, we can only blame the pen owners in Dagupan City. Thus, we can file a class suit in order to stop their operations,” Rosario said.
He said that clean water must flow into fishponds which, he added, are no longer earning enough despite the fact that their owners are paying huge land taxes, compared to pen owners who are not paying any tax to the government.
Rosario acknowledged that there are today 2,431 fishpond operators in his town.
