Amid the current restiveness of Taal Volcano, fish pen operators and fisherfolk operating in Taal Lake were prompted to issue a statement assuring the public that their tilapia catch is safe for consumption.

This is to avoid the same scenario during last year’s eruption when fish pen operators and fisherfolk in the area were badly affected by misleading food safety advisory coming from the Department of Health (DOH).

“The phreatic explosion doesn’t affect tilapia. The debris fell only within surrounding areas of the island while sulfur dioxide only affects plants. Moreover, fish do not consume ash from the volcano,” Nestor Natanauan, president of Taal Lake Aquaculture Alliance Inc., (TLAAI), said in a statement on Monday.

In an earlier radio interview, Natanauan said fisherfolk and fish farmers are aware of the dangers of Taal’s possible explosion. Hence, feeding is done only in the morning, after which workers immediately return to the mainland.

He also assured the public that Taal fisherfolk only harvests and sells fresh and live tilapia and that the presence of coastguards in the area prevents unscrupulous elements from stealing fish.

Daily fish production from the 6,000 cages of TLLAI members is around 200-250 tons per day. This excludes artisanal tilapia caught outside their cages, as well as tawilis, maliputo, biya and other local species.

For his part, Tugon Kabuhayan Convenor and former Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Director Asis Perez said the government must ensure that production and delivery aren’t hampered or threatened unnecessarily.

“Taal’s contribution to food security can’t be overemphasized,” Perez said.

He said combined production of aquaculture and capture fisheries from Taal Lake could reach 100,000 metric tons (MT) per year, of which 70 percent is consumed outside Batangas, mostly in Metro Manila and surrounding areas.

It will be recalled that at the onset of the volcano’s eruption in January last year, BFAR and other scientists had to debunk a baseless claim by DOH that tilapia from Taal Lake was unsafe to eat due to the water’s high sulfur content.

It took several days to reverse the negative impact as much of the produce was either unsold or bought at very low prices.

The farmers were hit twice – one by the volcanic eruption and the other by the adverse DoH advisory, Tugon Kabuhayan said.

“This is the kind of situation that we must avoid at all cost,” the food security advocacy group further said.