Events

3rd National Forum on Invasive Fishes (September 18, 2018)

Unabated proliferation of invasive aquatic species spawns interconnected problems which includes among others, native fish stock decline, collapse of biodiversity, disruption of the ecosystem, genetic contamination and disease introduction. On top of these negative impacts is the economic loss of our fisherfolk whose livelihood is threatened.

Our awareness on harmful invasive aquatic species heightened during the infestation of knife fish in Laguna de Bai which started in 2011. The occurrence alarmed and prompted some government agencies to form an inter-agency technical working group composed of BFAR, DOST-PCAARRD, DSWD, LLDA, DTI, DENR, TESDA and DILG. With the support of the local government units and the FARMCs, the technical working group initiated containment measures through massive physical retrieval, intervention on the life cycle, promotion of economic uses, livelihood training on processing and value adding and intensified information education campaign.

Multi-agency efforts to contain knife fish infestation in Laguna Lake have paid off considerably. Percentage of knife fish from total fish catch dropped from 41% in 2011 to 27% in 2014. Furthermore, Laguna de Bai fish production, showed increasing trend from 140T tons in 2010 to 160T tons in 2014. Catches of endemic species – dalag, ayungin, hito, biya and other species preyed on by knife fish showed signs of improvement.

As we highlight the gains of our efforts to contain the “silent enemies” that lurk underneath Laguna de Bai, we maintain our call for everyone to be consistently vigilant in guarding our rivers and lakes. Our amended fisheries code which provides us now with strengthened provisions against the introduction of knife fish and similar species should boost our effort. 

Likewise, we emphasize that public education is our best weapon to prevent the spread of this menace. Hence, this publication which features the Proceedings of the 2^nd National Forum on Invasive Species is another effective information material that is worth sharing with the public.  This can also serve as helpful reference materials for researchers and other fisheries stakeholders. We encourage you therefore to seriously go through its pages and thereafter visit our invasive fishes website - www.invasivefishes.bfar.da.gov.ph . By doing so, you can become our ally in protecting our valuable natural resources.

Mabuhay ang Sektor ng Pangisdaan!