Oil spill could trigger fish shortage – expert
(UPDATE) AN expert on Tuesday warned of possible fish shortage as an oil spill from a sunken vessel off the coast of Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, reached Palawan, threatening other coastal areas in the country.
In a radio interview, Dr. Irene Rodriguez, associate professor at the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI), said the oil spill is worse than the incident in 2006 in Guimaras.
“Before the incident, the worst oil spill was in 2006 in Guimaras. The vessel that caused the spill was carrying 500,000 liters of oil. This time around, MT Princess Empress is carrying 800,000 liters of industrial oil. In terms of volume of oil, if this spread to the bodies of water, it is worse compared to the 2006 [oil spill],” Rodriguez added.
She said the food chain can also be affected as the oil slick has reached the surface of the water.
“Immediately, this has impact on photosynthetic organisms in the water column. We know that photosynthetic organisms are the base of the food chain, immediately it will affect the source of our fish and other organisms we use for food,” Rodriguez added.
According to her, all the organisms will die because of the oil spill.
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