The devastating fish kill that has swept through tilapia farms in Magat Dam has now inflicted an estimated ₱120 million in losses, as authorities race to help fish farmers salvage what remains of their stocks.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said the bulk of the damage was recorded in Alfonso Lista, where losses have climbed to roughly ₱100 million, while fish cage operators in Ramon have reported more than ₱20 million in damages.
BFAR spokesperson and Cordillera Regional Director Nazario Briguera said many fish cages have already lost most of their tilapia stocks, leaving affected growers with little chance of recovering their investments.
The fish kill was first detected on June 23, when large numbers of tilapia raised in floating fish cages began dying across sections of Magat Dam, one of Northern Luzon’s major freshwater aquaculture hubs.
According to BFAR, the incident was triggered by the lingering effects of El Niño, whose prolonged heat caused water levels in the reservoir to fall sharply.
As the water level dropped, the amount of dissolved oxygen—the oxygen naturally available in water that fish need to survive—also declined. The reduced oxygen concentration created stressful conditions for the fish, eventually leading to widespread mortality.
To minimize further losses, BFAR has urged fish cage operators to immediately harvest surviving tilapia before water conditions deteriorate further. The emergency harvest allows farmers to sell marketable fish and recover at least part of their production costs.
The fisheries bureau has likewise deployed two refrigerated transport vans to assist in bringing harvested tilapia from Magat Dam to public markets, helping preserve the quality of the fish while speeding up distribution.
Officials continue to monitor water quality in the reservoir while coordinating with local governments and affected communities to determine additional interventions that could help the aquaculture sector recover from one of the region’s most severe fish kill incidents in recent years.