Cyanide destroys seaweed plantation
Inquirer News Service - Philippines
February 25, 2002
CYANIDE poisoning has destroyed a multimillion-peso seaweed plantation owned and being run by a cooperative in Puerto Princesa City.
In a statement, Bantay Puerto Foundation, a non-government environmental watchdog in Puerto Princesa City, said a report submitted by Ambrocio Maratas, Barangay Tagburos chief, and village guard Datibo Orehuela, confirmed that the seaweed plantation was destroyed by the illegal use of cyanide.
Antonio Romasanta, Bantay Puerto president, said in the statement that members of the seaweed plantation cooperative had complained to Marcos Zulueta, barangay chair of Magburos Village, about the cyanide poisoning.
Zulueta sent Maratas and Orehuela to investigate the complaint.
The statement said cooperative members were expecting their first harvest of seaweed worth 250,000 pesos in December last year.
Until July last year, the seaweed that the cooperative members were trying to nurture were healthy and were growing fast and were ready for harvest in five months.
But the seaweed suddenly turned white and dried up, an indication of cyanide poisoning, according to the report prepared by Maratas and Orehuela.
Cyanide is being used illegally by fishing syndicates who export live tropical fish abroad for table consumption or ornamental purposes.
The cooperative members said they invested in their plantation in Tagburos after conducting a thorough study that showed the area was ideal for large-scale seaweed cultivation.
“We did not expect cyanide poisoning to destroy our project,” a cooperative member was quoted as saying.
The cooperative members and other residents of Tagburos and other coastal communities in Puerto Princesa depend largely on fishing and aqua-farming for their livelihood.
They are urging authorities to immediately put a stop to illegal fishing activities like cyanide and dynamite fishing which permanently destroy fish corals, the main breeding ground of various fish and marine species in Palawan.
Inquirer News Service - Philippines
February 25, 2002
CYANIDE poisoning has destroyed a multimillion-peso seaweed plantation owned and being run by a cooperative in Puerto Princesa City.
In a statement, Bantay Puerto Foundation, a non-government environmental watchdog in Puerto Princesa City, said a report submitted by Ambrocio Maratas, Barangay Tagburos chief, and village guard Datibo Orehuela, confirmed that the seaweed plantation was destroyed by the illegal use of cyanide.
Antonio Romasanta, Bantay Puerto president, said in the statement that members of the seaweed plantation cooperative had complained to Marcos Zulueta, barangay chair of Magburos Village, about the cyanide poisoning.
Zulueta sent Maratas and Orehuela to investigate the complaint.
The statement said cooperative members were expecting their first harvest of seaweed worth 250,000 pesos in December last year.
Until July last year, the seaweed that the cooperative members were trying to nurture were healthy and were growing fast and were ready for harvest in five months.
But the seaweed suddenly turned white and dried up, an indication of cyanide poisoning, according to the report prepared by Maratas and Orehuela.
Cyanide is being used illegally by fishing syndicates who export live tropical fish abroad for table consumption or ornamental purposes.
The cooperative members said they invested in their plantation in Tagburos after conducting a thorough study that showed the area was ideal for large-scale seaweed cultivation.
“We did not expect cyanide poisoning to destroy our project,” a cooperative member was quoted as saying.
The cooperative members and other residents of Tagburos and other coastal communities in Puerto Princesa depend largely on fishing and aqua-farming for their livelihood.
They are urging authorities to immediately put a stop to illegal fishing activities like cyanide and dynamite fishing which permanently destroy fish corals, the main breeding ground of various fish and marine species in Palawan.
