By Jigger J. Jerusalem
Correspondent
AUTHORITIES are looking into the discharge of a sticky white fluid by a foreign vessel off the coast of Jasaan town in Misamis Oriental.
The substance has stuck to mangroves, rocks, and sand along the shoreline, and is feared to adversely affect milkfish farms in Lower Jasaan.
The Coast Guard, however, said the sticky fluid looked nothing more than a cleansing agent, a pronouncement that did not douse fears of villagers and local officials.
Coast Guard officials said the cargo ship “Hugo” started discharging the liquid substance on Friday afternoon but it was only reported to them hours later.
Coast Guard substation commander Petty Officer 2 Sherwin Emperio said the local officials of Barangay Lower Jasaan, where the spill occurred, reported the discharge to them at around 8:05 pm.
Local officials first alleged that it was an oil spill but the PCG said the white substance looked more like a cleansing agent.
“After receiving the report, we went to verify. We found out that it was detergent used to clean the ship’s deck,” Emperio said.
But Sabas Tagarda Jr., the barangay chairman of Lower Jasaan, said villagers were alarmed and local officials were worried because there were fish cages containing thousands of milkfish fingerlings and mangrove forest in the area.
Tagarda said the vessel is one of the cargo ships that deliver raw materials to a manufacturing company that uses coconut oil as the main ingredient in consumer products with its base of operation in Jasaan.
Websites that feature cargo ships identify “Hugo N” as a bulk carrier.
As of Saturday morning, the vessel in question has already left the area.
Tagarda said the white substance stuck to mangroves, rocks, and sand along the shoreline and has allegedly affected the milkfish farm in Lower Jasaan.
“Some of the fingerlings have died. I advised the fish cage owners to harvest the matured ones before they die,” he said.
Tagarda said he also told residents not to gather seashells or catch fish in the affected areas for fear that these were no longer fit for human consumption.
He said there are four fish cages in the area, and each cage contains about 16,000 fingerlings.
Tagarda said he was also worried because he planted over a hundred mangrove saplings, and he fears that many of them would die probably due to the white substance.
Petty Officer 2 Roy Sardoma of the Coast Guard’s marine environmental protection unit based in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, said the quality of a water sample they took from the affected site tested “normal.”
“We still have to confirm if the substance is toxic, although if you look at the water, it appears normal,” Sardoma said.
Teodoro Bacolod Jr., regional director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Northern Mindanao, said he has dispatched a team of technical experts to investigate.
Bacolod said the ship’s owner could be held liable if the result of the investigation would show that the discharged substance is toxic or has caused damage to marine resources in the area.
“If the local government units have an ordinance on the illegal discharge of wastes at sea, then they can initiate legal action,” he said.
Redentor Jardin, Jasaan town mayor, said the municipal environment and resources office has been ordered to conduct a thorough investigation “and give me a documented report so I can act accordingly within 24 hours.”
