Reclamation projects on Manila Bay are putting shellfish gatherers in the area at risk of losing their livelihood, a militant fisherfolk group said Wednesday.
Pamalakaya said fishermen and people who gather mussels in Bacoor, Cavite have had smaller catches because of the Cavite Expressway Road Extension Project on the bay. Pamalakaya chair Myrna Candinato said mussel harvests are down to 30 to 50 gallons a day against harvests of around 200 gallons a day before the Cavitex was constructed.
The group said a proposed P14-billion reclamation project along Manila Bay will bring enviromental destruction that will affect fisherfolk in Bacoor, Las Pinas, Paranaque, Navotas, Malabon, and areas in Bulacan province.
“If these reclamation projects will not be stopped by President Benigno Aquino III, the struggling tahong industry will be dead in the next few years,” Candinato said in a Philippine Star report.
