JANITOR FISH ERADICATION DRIVE STEPPED UP

 Manila Bulletin

February 21, 2007

By: Anna Liza T. Villas

The Marikina City government has stepped up its campaign to wipe out the janitor fish in the river, increasing the price it will pay to people who catch the alien marine species from P.20 to P.50 each.

In an ordinance, the City Council approved a P50,000 fund as cash incentives to fishermen who will catch the pesky fish and help rid the Marikina River of the janitor fish, which has become more of a nuisance and even a danger to Philippine marine life.

This time, the city government will pay fishermen 50 centavos per fish caught.  Two years ago, Marikina councilor Ferdie Marco launched the "Oplan Alis Janitor  fish" and paid fishermen 20 centavos per fish caught.  The Marikina River is one of the areas where the fish proliferate and the drive is aimed at reviving the fishing industry.

Many fisherman had benefited from the project by assisting the local government in catching the exotic Hypostomus plecostomus, also known as suckermouth catfish or simply janitor fish.

The South American fish, popular among hobbyists because of its ability to clean fish tanks of algae and keep the water clean, has armor-like skin and sharp and sturdy fins.  It was accidentally unleashed in ponds and swept into other waterways, including the Marikina River, by the floods brought about by typhoon Rosing in 1995.

Ponchie Santos, chief of the city's Parks Development and Recreation Office, said the eradication drive launched two years ago created awareness among the people and encouraged them to catch the fish.

"Since last year, konti na yung janitor fish dahil nalaman ng tao yung about sa janitor fish"  he said, noting that even without the drive, fishermen and wardens are still catching the janitor fish.

"Lalong dadami yan pag di namin ipinagpatuloy ang panghuhuli.  They usually hide in the drainage outposts, "he said.

Apart from the appropriation, Marco said they will stage a contest for fishermen who will catch the most number of janitor fish.

Earlier, fishermen sought the assistance of the city government, complaining that the janitor fish were depriving them of their means of livelihood since the janitor fish were killing most of the edible fish in the river.

Fishermen claimed the janitor fish not only gobbled up the algae in the lake, depriving other fish of food; they also destroy fishing nets and fish cages with their sharp fins.

The Parks Development and Recreation Office of Marikina earlier also said "the janitor fish eats up small fishes and destroys the river flank which causes the soil to erode."

Santos also said that students who are experimenting on the fishes helped reduce the population of the fish.

Among those students was Raymond Joseph Amurao who proved that there is something useful for the janitor fish-the menace of Metro Manila's waterways when he turned oil from the janitor fish into biofuel comparable to the combustibility of kerosene, coco diesel, alcohol, and diesel.  His project won third prize in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair competition.

Many students outside the city are also encouraged to experiment and research on the janitor fish, developing its parts into shoes, soaps and detergents, among other things.