(Sa 22 araw na pangingisda)P441.25-M KITA NAWALA SA OIL SPILL

INIULAT ng Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) na nasa P441.25 million na kita ang nawala sa 22 araw na pangingisda dahil sa Mindoro oil spill.

Sinabi ng BFAR na mahigit sa 26,000 mangingisda ang direktang naapektuhan ng oil spill hanggang March 31, 2023 at nawalan sila ng P714 na araw-araw na kita.

“Data from DA-BFAR showed that there were 26,719 FishR registered fisherfolks directly affected by the oil spill as of March 31, 2023. They incurred an average daily income loss of Php714.00 on current PSA estimates, with almost Php20M daily losses—which translated to a total income loss of PhP441,253,428.00 in twenty-two (22) fishing days,” wika ni BFAR director Demosthenes Escoto.

Ayon kay Escoto, ang danyos o pagkalugi pagdating sa inputs at produce, fishing gears at paraphernalia, at facilities at equipment ay umaabot sa P445,333,928.00.

Nauna rito ay inirekomenda ng DA-BFAR ang pagpapanatili sa fishing ban sa oil spill-hit municipalities sa Oriental Mindoro makaraang matuklasan ang low-level contaminants o polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) sa fish samples.

Ayon sa BFAR, ang fish samples ay kinolekta at sinuri noong March 10. Nakitaan din ng PAH ang seaweeds na kinolekta at sinuri sa mga piling lugar sa Caluya, Antique noong March 9.

“The results were consistent with the findings of the DA-BFAR in its first and second batch of analyses, that is, minimal amounts of PAH levels were present in seafood collected from sampling sites in Oriental Mindoro,” sabi ng ahensiya.

“Despite low-level amounts found in the samples, the Bureau recommends keeping fishing bans in oil spill-hit municipalities in Oriental Mindoro since the initial analyses are not yet conclusive evidence as far as food safety is concerned,” dagdag pa ng DA-BFAR.

Magugunitang lumubog ang MT Princess Empress noong February 28 sa Najuan, Oriental Mindoro habang may kargang 900,000 litro ng industrial fuel.