Incidence and causes of mass fish kill in a shallow tropical eutrophic lake (Laguna de Bay, Philippines)
Abstract
Mass fish kills in Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the Philippines, has been reported as early as in the 1930’s. With the introduction of and development of aquaculture in this lake, considerable attention and concern was focused on the problem. Records of mass fish kill in the lake mainly from unpublished sources and reports from fisherfolk were reviewed and the causes categorized. The data covered the period 1972 to 1998. Among the commercially important fish species affected were milkfish (Chanos chanos), Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis), snakehead (Channa striata), catfish (Clarias macrocephalus and C. batrachus, Arius manilensis), silver perch (Terapon plumbeus) and goby (Glossogobius giurus). The first three species are widely used in aquaculture and the rest are important in open water fishery. Sixty percent of mass fish kill incidents were due to low dissolved oxygen with more than half of these cases associated with blue-green phytoplankton blooms. Fish kills due to pollution from agriculture and industries, fish pathogens and other causes are also discussed. The incidence of mass fish kill reached its peak between 1977 to 1986. Records show that the most number of fish kills (80%) occurred between the months of May to September. The lakeshore towns in the central arm of the lake had the highest incidence of fish kill reported with 46% and followed by the west arm of the lake with 38% of all fish kills recorded.
Citation
Cuvin-Aralar, M. L., Santiago, A. E., Gonzal, A. C., Santiago, C. B., Romana-Eguia, M. R., Baldia, S. F., & Palisoc Jr., F. (2001). Incidence and causes of mass fish kill in a shallow tropical eutrophic lake (Laguna de Bay, Philippines). In 9th International Conference on the Conservation and Management of Lakes. Conference proceedings (pp. 233–236). Shiga, Japan: Shiga Prefectural Government.
Publisher
Shiga Prefectural GovernmentSubject
Finfishes; Fish kills -- Philippines -- Laguna de Bay; Dissolved oxygen; Algal blooms; Pollution; Diseases; Geographical distribution; Periodicity; Philippines -- Laguna de Bay; Milkfish; Nile tilapia; Carp; Bighead carp; Perches; Silver perch; Catfishes; Gobiidae; Tilapia; Chanos chanos; Oreochromis niloticus; Aristichthys nobilis; Channa striata; Clarias macrocephalus; Clarias batrachus; Arius manilaensis; Terapon plumbeus; Glossogobius giurus
Type
Conference paperCollections
- Conference Proceedings [283]
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Conference paper
Pasig River backflow and its effect on the water quality of Laguna de Bay, Philippines.
- 2001 - Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center; Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development; Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic ResourcesThe backflow of Pasig River into Laguna de Bay was closely monitored beginning April 28, 1997 based on the expected high tide in Manila Bay and the average low lake level of 2.5 m in Station W (N 14°27.7'; E 121°08.5') located at the west lobe of the lake. Saltwater intrusion was first detected during of the highest high tide (i.e., 1.5 m at 1430 h) on April 29. Water from Pasig River flowing into the lake was black and had a characteristic odor of hydrogen sulfide. With the light house (or 'Parola') at the mouth of Pasig River as the reference point, movement of saltwater in the lake was monitored and the area affected estimated with the use of GPS 38 Personal Navigator®. Up to mid May (Week 2), the movement of saltwater into Laguna de Bay was hampered by the intermittent calm weather conditions and moderately strong northeasterly wind ('hanging amihan'). When the wind direction shifted and the southwesterly wind ('hanging habagat') became strong on Week 3 (May 18 to 20), strong water movement and fast diffusion of saltwater into the other parts of the west lobe of the lake were observed. During this period of rapid change in the lake (May 21-24), a high frequency monitoring was conducted in Station W. Fluctuations in chloride ion concentration, conductivity and total dissolved solids, Secchi disc reading, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and other parameters were noted in the station. Heavy rainfall in the area on May 24-26 and run-offs from the watershed and overflow from the river tributaries increased the lake level. The elevation of the water level resulted in draining out of the lake water into Pasig River to Manila Bay and this practically ended the year's saltwater intrusion into Laguna de Bay. Movement of saltwater reached almost the whole area of the west and central lobes of the lake on the first week of June (week 5) as evidenced by the clearing of water in those areas. It was estimated that clearing of the entire lake because of saltwater movement takes about 2-3 months. -
Article
Microcystins in natural blooms and laboratory cultured Microcystis aeruginosa from Laguna de Bay, Philippines.
-Systematic and Applied Microbiology , 2002 - Urban & Fischer VerlagLaguna de Bay, the largest freshwater lake in the Philippines, experiences periodic blooms of the cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa. Blooms of these cyanobacteria in 1996, 1998 and 1999 were sampled. HPLC and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry were used to analyze for microcystins. A total of 16 structural variants of the toxin were isolated from the samples with microcystin LR (MC-LR) as the most abundant variant in the samples from 1996 and 1999 making up 77 to 85% of the total, respectively. MC-RR was the dominant variant in the 1998 bloom making up 38%. The samples from 1996 had the highest total toxin concentration (4049 µg g-1) followed by those from 1998 (1577 µg g-1) and 1999 (649 µg g-1). A strain of M. aeruginosa previously isolated from the lake was also cultured in the laboratory under different nitrogen concentrations (1, 3 and 6 mg L-1) and elevated phosphorus concentration (0.5 mg L-1) to determine the influence of these factors on toxin production. A total of 9 different structural variants of microcystin were isolated from the laboratory cultures with MC-LR consisting more than 75% of the total in all treatments. No significant differences in the total toxin concentration as well as the % distribution of the different variants among treatments were observed. However, the strain of M. aeruginosa cultured in the laboratory had from 3 to 20 times higher total microcystin than those harvested from the lake. -
Article
The current state of aquaculture in Laguna de Bay
- 2007 - Philippine Institute for Development Studies
Series: PIDS Discussion Paper Series; No. 2007-20This paper presents some of the preliminary results and findings of an ongoing study, jointly conducted by the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC AQD) and Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), which assesses the current state of aquaculture in Laguna de Bay. The study uses primary and secondary data. The primary data were gathered through interviews with key informants and a cross-section survey of fishpen and fishcage operators and their operations in Laguna de Bay conducted in 2007. The secondary data were gathered from the published statistical indices of institutional sources and other relevant literature. The results of the study indicate that aquaculture in Laguna de Bay is a vibrant industry that includes not only fishpen and fishcage operators but also various participants in its input and product markets. Furthermore, they show that aquaculture contributes significantly to fish production in the lake as well as to national aquaculture and fisheries production. The results of the study also indicate that while aquaculture in Laguna de Bay has been an important economic contributor locally and nationally, it has been facing numerous problems over time that constrain its development. Of these, environment-related problems, lack of access to cheap capital, obstruction of navigational lanes by fishpens, existence of illegal fishpens, poaching and overall limited support from the government were considered very serious by aquaculture operators. These problems, therefore, may be the ones needing the most attention.
