Anything Under the Sun
Guimaras -- the Emerald Isle (2)
There is great fear that the oil spill will spread to the two richest fishing grounds of the country itself -- Visayan Sea to the north and Sulu Sea to the east.
The northern waters of Guimaras is an arm of the Visayan Sea. This vast expanse of water borders on Panay, Negros, Cebu, Masbate and Bohol. It is so rich a fishing ground that it once made Estancia (a northern town of Iloilo) as "Alaska of the Philippines". Its main produce are salmon (guma-a when dried), sardines (tabagak when dried) and squids. These three were canned in Estancia before the war by the government-owned National Canning Factory.
Once the oil spill rush northward on Guimaras Strait, it will cause destructions along its way on the western beaches of Negros Occidental where green shells (in Talisay and Silay) and angel wings shell -- the delicious diwal, in Valladolid, Pulupandan and Pontevedra), both abound.
The oil spill will then continue northward laying waste the eastern beaches of Guimaras and Iloilo where most of the fishponds of Iloilo are located (Zarraga, Barotac Nuevo, Dumangas, Ajuy, Concepcion and Balasan). These fishponds produce the most delicious milkfish (bangus) in the country due to its peculiar soil mix created by various kinds of silts from mangroves and flooding rivers. As of this writing, the oil spill has already reached the coastal barangays of Ajuy and Concepcion.
On the other hand, should the oil spill rush southeastward, it will flow into the Sulu Sea which makes Antique the tuna (panit) center of the Philippines next to General Santos. Along the way, it will also damage the beaches in southern Iloilo, western Antique and perhaps, may eventually reach the internationally-famous Boracay in Aklan.
The oil spill will also kill marine animal life on the coastal municipal waters including those inside fish pens (punot) thus depriving thousands of fishermen of their livelihood. As of this writing, in Nueva Valencia alone, more than 4,000 fishermen are already jobless.
The bangus industry aside from being destroyed directly will also be indirectly affected because of the killing of bangus fries in the coasts of Antique -- the main source of these fries.
(To be continued)