ANGELES CITY- It’s a fish that’s known in some areas as Gloria, in others as Arroyo. But it has no record of being officially named after the beleaguered ex-president Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo who, like the fish, seemed to have become pariah.
Nothing political, but no one now seems to want the fish because it has been noted as invasive and predatory.
While it looks like St. Peter’s fish or tilapia and multiplies faster, it has been described as tasteless and foul smelling. A fisher’s group has appealed to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to help remove or exterminate the Arroyo fish from fishponds, creeks and rivers in Bulacan where the aquatic predators have been noted to be growing in population since typhoon Ondoy in 2009.
The BFAR said that the fish had been called Gloria in some areas because of its size, while it is called Arroyo in other areas where folk noted the fish’s apparent mole or dark pigmentation under its lower jaw. The former president, now on her second term as Pampanga congresswoman, is known for her prominent mole on her left cheek.
Fisherfolk leader Salvador France said the Arroyo fish “have been preying on bangus fingerlings and shrimps and eating whatever they can eat in fishponds, creeks and rivers.”
He lamented the alleged failure of the BFAR to contain the population of the Arroyo fish since its spread was reported after typhoon Ondoy. “Fishermen have observed that the Arroyo fish grows fast and it matures in one month compared to bangus and other aquatic species raised in fishponds.
They said such nature indicates that Arroyo fish is a predatory fish and poses extreme danger to milkfish, crab and shrimps,” France said. He added that while some vendors sell the fish for P15 to P 20 per kilo, most consumers do not buy it because it has been known for foul odor and lack of taste.
“Bulacan fishponds have become one of the fast rising hot spots for predatory and alien fish species,” he noted.
France also said that Laguna Lake has also become “a major host to a number of invasive fish species like janitor fi sh, snake-turtle fish and knife fish which had drastically reduced fish production by 50 percent to 60 percent or from an average of 5 kilos per fi shing trip to 2 kilos of fi sh per fishing trip.”
