NO OUTBREAK OF DISEASES IN TILAPIA AND SHRIMPS IN TAAL LAKE AND LAGUNA DE BAY

LAGUNA DE BAY, LAGUNA- BUREAU OF FISHERIES AND AQUATIC RESOURCES (BFAR) REGION IV-A clarifies that there is no outbreak of diseases in tilapia or shrimp and that the recent cases of fish mortality in the Taal Lake and Laguna de Bay on June 24, 2020.

BFAR Region IV-A Director Sammy Malvas stated that the sudden death of shrimps and tilapia was not caused by viruses or diseases but low dissolved oxygen (DO) due to abrupt weather change and water pollution caused by the lowering of oxygen level or a sudden temperature change. He also warned the public against the tilapia lake virus, which may cause widespread deaths among the fish.

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) informs the public that as part of the biosecurity measures in place under Fisheries Order No. 100 and No. 241. The Bureau has required health certificates in the transport or movement of tilapia fry and fingerlings and shrimp in the post-larvae stage for growing out since 2015. With this, it stops the spread of diseases like the White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV), Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease/Early Mortality Syndrome (APHND/EMS), and the Tilapia Lake Virus (TilV) threatening shrimp and tilapia culture. Tilapia and shrimp brought to the wet markets will not require duplicate health certificates for transport.

For the common, White Spot Syndrome (WSSV) is a highly contagious viral disease of prawns that causes high mortality rates in affected stock. Other crustaceans can be carriers of the virus. Still, they are rarely impacted by the disease tilapia tilapinevirus, or Tilapia lake virus (TiLV), which is a virus that infects both wild and aquacultured populations of tilapia. The virus was first discovered and identified in 2014 in the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret Lake), Israel, where it experienced a significant noticeable decline in tilapia catch quantities. In the Philippines, the first reported case was in 2017, when the affected fish showed a distended abdomen and bulging eyes. On the other hand, a bacterial disease that contains a highly pathogenic plasmid, creating a deadly toxin that causes high mortality in shrimps, is identified as an acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND), commonly known as early mortality syndrome (EMS).

The DA-BFAR CALABARZON would emphasize that these diseases do not threaten human health. The fish commodities, for instance, be affected by the said diseases are still safe for human consumption, provided that they are fresh and thoroughly washed and cleaned before cooking. Through its regional offices, they will continue to strictly enforce FOO 100 and FOO 241 to ensure that the spread of fish diseases mentioned above is controlled and the tilapia and shrimp industries are protected.