Oil spill affects 60 hectares of mangrove area in Antique

By John Noel E. Herrera

An estimated 60 hectares of mangrove area in Antique have been affected by the oil spill due to the recent sinking of MT Prince Empress in Oriental Mindoro.

Antique Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) head Broderick Train said that the affected mangrove area is located in Sitio Sabang, Brgy Tinogboc, Sitio Liwagao, Brgy. Sibolo, and Brgy. Semirara.

“More or less daw dako, mga 60 hectares nga mangroves kag may mga seagrass, amu ni ang gina target kag pinakamassive nga affected sa Semirara nga mangrove area,” Train said.

Government workers and the locals are also continuously working to clean the coastline to prevent additional damage to the area, according to Train.

“Sige pa sa gihapon ang clearing and coastal clean-up, especially ang gina target subong ang mga affected nga mangroves,” he said.

The University of the Philippines-Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI) earlier reported that over 9,000 hectares of mangrove areas in different provinces, including Antique, might be affected by the oil spillage already.

Environment group Oceana added that the government should implement mechanisms and actions to stop further damage to the marine environment, fisheries resources, and livelihood in the affected areas of the oil spill.

“All of us should be alarmed at the devastation and damage of this ongoing tragedy on fisheries resources and coastal marine ecosystems, particularly, mangroves, seagrass and coral reefs in these ecologically sensitive areas which likewise impact the livelihoods of artisanal fisherfolk and coastal communities, including tourism,” the group stressed.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)-6 said that the oil spill already affected the P79-million seaweed industry in Caluya Island in Antique which provides livelihood to 99 percent of the more or less 11,000 fisherfolks in the area.

BFAR-6 also advised farmers to harvest their seaweeds as soon as possible as the oil spill’s damage to the industry already reached P4 million.

“Kon ano ang pwede ma-harvest samtang wala pa makalab-ot ang oil spill sa area with production of seaweeds, i-harvest niyo lang,” BFAR-6 director Remia Aparri said.