By JEN BAYLON

The fishing community at Barangay 2 in Negros Occidental’s Ilog town is reeling from the impact of fish kill incidents in the Ilog-Hilabangan River, leaving fisherfolk without a source of income.

Barangay 2 chief Nicanor Lopez said about 50 fishermen from Sitio Malabong have been deprived of their livelihoods due to the fish kill.

They are suffering because there are no more fish to catch, he said.

Incidents of suspected fish kills happened on June 9 and July 1.

Lopez said an estimated 500 kilos of dead fish, including crabs and shrimps, were seen floating in the river.

He also called on the Ilog Municipal Agriculture Office, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to investigate what caused the fish kill and find ways to prevent a recurrence.

Earlier, authorities suspected that the high level of chlorine in the river may be one of the contributing factors.

Water samples from the river were sent to the Negros Prawn Producers Cooperative for analysis, which showed high levels of chlorine.

However, Lucia Salazar, DENR supervising environment specialist, said the sampling and testing process was not followed properly, which could have contaminated the sample.

Salazar emphasized that they will conduct another series of tests to determine the cause of the fish kill.

She noted that various factors may have contributed to the suspected fish kill, including changes in water temperature.

Salazar clarified that there may have been contamination because it took days before the water sample was tested.

It was learned that the sample was taken on June 10, but it was submitted to the laboratory on June 14./JB, WDJ