The Bangus Industry Stakeholders & Dealers Alliance (BISDA) said the government needs to impose tougher pollution controls on industry and households to ensure the sustainability of the Laguna de Bay fishery, as prices of bangus, or milkfish, become prohibitive for consumers. It said restrictions on aquaculture in the growing area which is nearest to Metro Manila’s major markets are not the solution to controlling pollution, and that the government needs to crack down on polluters along the Pasig and Marikina rivers, which feed into Laguna de Bay. BISDA spokesperson Joel R. Dizon said in a text message to the BusinessWorld that bangus growers on Laguna de Bay must be “allowed to utilize the optimum area for fish production” and that the government must “go hard after the true culprits of pollution: industrial effluents, domestic wastes, all happening upstream Pasig and Marikina rivers far from the lake itself.”

Ignacio, R. J. N. (2018, September 25). Laguna de Bay Bangus industry calls for more restrictive pollution controls. BusinessWorld, p. S1/4.