Fish Pen Demolition
The fish pen demolition in Laguna Lake has already started as there are two fish pens covering about 100 hectares of the body of water were demolished.
In a report by Inquirer, the said demolition was part of the campaign by the government looking to ease the over congested Laguna Lake including Rizal provinces and Metro Manila.
According to the report, the said pens are being owned by Seven Eleven Fishing Corp. and the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) have confirmed that these pens have already been passed through different ownerships through the years with the proper documentation from the LLDA.
LLDA general manager Nereus Acosta described the case as a ‘bad loan’ if to be compared to a bank transaction.
The said demolition of the pens was executed from the orders that came from President Rodrigo Duterte who eyes to clear the body of water from illegal structures such as pens. Also, as Duterte mentioned on his first State of the Nation Address last July 2, his administration plans to rehabilitate the lake.
Environment secretary Gina Lopez was the one assigned to take needed actions to resolve the heavily crowded Laguna Lake wherein Metro Manila and other nearby provinces get their supplies. Lopez, in the report, said that she is planning to transform the lake into an ecotourism zone.
That’s why, Acosta said the agency would immediately demolish these illegal structures as Lopez said that she wants the demolition to happen immediately.
The agency now has 358 legitimate operators of fish pens and cages listed owned by corporations and individual owners.
And those illegal fish pen owners are given a 48-hour notice and are suggested to demolish their own pens.
Meanwhile, the lake’s capacity of 9,000 hectares to allow aquaculture, but currently, 12,315.80 hectares of water has been occupied.