Pollution, slums and an invasion of foreign fish species are threatening the Philippines' largest lake, one of the nation's major fish farming regions, according to a study published Tuesday. Laguna de Bay on the outskirts of eastern Manila covers more than 90,000 hectares (222,300 acres) but since 1965, fish pens and cages have been built out across some 15 percent of the lake. The Study of Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center, said the lake's ecosystem was also being threatened by pollution caused by residential, commercial and industrial development and the encroachment of squatters along its shores.

Study: Philippines' largest lake under threat. (2008, March 5). Visayan Daily Headlines, p. 5.