BFAR urged to assess damage in fisheries sector caused by Taal Volcano eruption
A fisherfolk group has urged the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to evaluate the damages caused by the recent Taal Volcano eruption to fisheries and aquaculture.

Militant fishers’ group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) has also appealed for assistance to be given to fisherfolk whose livelihood has been affected by the volcano’s unrest.
“We are calling on the BFAR to immediately evaluate the damage of the Taal Volcano eruption to fisheries and aquaculture, leading to reparation for the loss of potential income of fisherfolks and coastal residents situated along the stretch of Taal Lake,” Pamalakaya national chairperson Fernando Hicap said in a statement.
“We presume that the latest eruption poses serious damage to fisheries and aquaculture as the lake is a traditional fishing site for tilapia, bangus (milkfish), and the endangered tawilis,” he added.
Taal Lake serves as the home of tawilis—the world’s only freshwater sardine.
Related story: https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/06/saving-the-endangered-tawilis/
The fishers’ group said that the evacuated residents from Laurel and Agoncillo towns, which are mostly composed of fishing communities, should be assisted in a form of economic aid and medical care in evacuation centers.
Apart from basic necessities, the evacuees should be given proper medical attention as they could be left exposed to the COVID-19 virus in congested evacuation centers,” Hicap said.
“There should be enough health personnel in evacuation sites to attend to children and senior citizens who are most vulnerable to the virus,” he added.
The Taal Volcano in Batangas has been placed under Alert Level 3 following a “short-lived” phreatomagmatic eruption on July 1, which triggered an evacuation of residents in some high-risk areas.