Authorities said up to 700 kilos of fish, mostly milkfish and tilapia died of a fish kill in a fishery in Cebu City since Thursday last week.
According to reports, the fish suddenly floated in a fishery in South Road Properties.
According to the city’s Bantay-Dagat Commission, the dead fish reached 700 kilograms, and the fish kill began Thursday.
The report added residents near the fishery took home some fish they thought they could still eat, even though picking dead fish is strictly prohibited since it is dangerous for the health.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) had the dead fishes examined.
BFAR-7 saw the high temperatures experienced in Cebu since last week as one of the possible causes of the fish kill in the province.
BFAR also found that ammonia levels were high in pond A of the said fishery.
Authorities said the waters in the fishery tested negative in the bacteriological exam. However, the agency still warned the public to refrain from eating fish caught in the fishery, for it may contain other harmful chemicals.
Some common causes of fish kills were an abrupt change of temperatures (winter fish kills/summer fish kills), accidental spills; acid mine drainage (AMD), acid sulfate soils (wetlands and floodplains), algal blooms (cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates), and ammonia (NH3) toxicity.
Also read: 900 kilos of milkfish from fish kill seized in Dagupan