Dismantle commercial fishpens
Pamalakaya also recommended the dismantling of large-scale fish pens in Taal Lake to avoid future overcrowding and to allow natural healing process in these fishing areas. The group said large-scale fish pens occupy 90 percent of the existing areas for aquaculture.
“The left and right awarding of contracts and other form of lease agreements awarded by the national and local governments through Fishpond Lease Agreements or FLA to aquaculture concessionaires should be stopped. These monopolies maintaining large-scale fish pens in Taal Lake should be dismantled,” the group said.
Pamalakaya said a prohibition should be laid down against the building of large-scale fishpens in major lakes of the country aside from Laguna Lake and Taal Lake. It said that large-scale aquaculture should not be allowed in Lanao Lake (34,700 hectares) in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, Lake Mainit (14,000 hectares) connecting the provinces of Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Norte, Naujan Lake (11,000 hectares) in Mindoro Oriental, Buluan Lake (6,500 hectares) connecting Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao, Lake Bato (3,800 hectares) and Lake Buhi (1,800 hectares) in Iriga City, Camarines Sur, Lake Dapao (1,000 hectares) in Lanao del Sur and Lake Sebu (964 hectares) in South Cotabato.
Hicap said large fish pens should be dismantled to stop fish overcrowding. He said that the fishing areas severely exploited by corporate fish pens should be allowed to recover.
“These big fish pens are operated by powerful political clans and those with connections with the current political authorities from the national up to the local levels. They’re behind all this destruction,” he said. “We hope President Aquino will come to his senses and stop government authorities from bargaining fishpond contracts to the highest bidder at the expense of small fisherfolk and the marine environment.”
Influential owners of fish pens
Some lawmakers have already stated readiness to address the fish kill and put an end to it, but said that they’re up against powerful and moneyed forces.
Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez, chairman of the House committee on ecology, in an interview with media, said that active and retired generals as well as politicians are among the biggest operators of giant fish pens in Laguna de Bay. This, he said, is what makes it difficult for authorities to demand the dismantling of the fish pens.
Fernandez did not name the fish pen owners, but said that they might well be identified during official congressional inquiries into the fish kill.
According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) the fish kill was caused by an overturn wherein moderate to heavy rains made the surface water of Taal Lake cold and dense, which in turn forced the deep hot bottom water containing pollutants to rise, heating the fish cages thereby depriving the fish of dissolved oxygen.
The BFAR has been pushing for a ban on fish pens since 2002 following a massive fish kill in Bolinao and Anda. The 2002 fish kill resulted in P400-million losses to the bangus (milkfish) industry, and according to reports, the BFAR issued funds to Anda, Bolinao and Bani towns Alaminos City for the demolition of fish pens, but up to now the fish pens remain.
BFAR Asis Perez has said that the fish kill could well be a result of overcrowding.
He said that the fish cages do not conform to standard size and depth. “The fish pens should each contain not more than 10 tons of cultured fish, but some contain at least 25 tons. “The fish compete for oxygen, but because the pens are too small and there are too many fish in them, the fish die,” he said.
Based on latest reports, the BFAR and the Batangas local government is in the process of bringing the number of fish pens down to 6,000 from the current 7,000. 
