THE SEARCH for the missing sabungeros (cockfighters) in Lake Taal has driven down demand for tawilis, the lake’s endemic freshwater sardine, amid unfounded fears it might be unsafe for human consumption.
Why this story matters: Fisherfolk groups have expressed concern over baseless public panic that the fish might have fed on human remains, causing the price of tawilis to drop to an “all-time low” of P100 per kilogram in nearby towns.
Expert take: There’s no cause for alarm about the tawilis, said UST College of Science Dean Rey Donne Papa, a limnologist or expert on inland water bodies.
“Hindi dapat mag-alangan kumain ng tawilis,” said Papa, who has been studying Lake Taal since 2003.
The science: According to the UST science dean, tawilis are non-carnivorous and feed only on microscopic organisms in the upper 20 to 30 meters of the lake.
- Tawilis feed on live zooplankton like copepods, cladocerans, and rotifers, not decaying matter.
- Decomposition occurs quickly in tropical lakes due to high microbial activity and nutrient levels, making long-term contamination unlikely.
- Tawilis cannot go into in the deeper parts of Lake Taal, where the supposed human remains—likely weighed down—were believed to have been dumped.
- Deeper areas lack oxygen and light, making them uninhabitable for tawilis and their food source.
Community impact: Pamalakaya, a fisherfolk group, has since called on the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to assist them by buying products directly from fisherfolk of Lake Taal and urging the public to support them.
Agoncillo, Batangas Mayor Cinderella Reyes reported that the harvest of tawilis had gone down by 40%.
The decline in tawilis demand over the missing sabungeros case adds to the losses Lake Taal fishermen had suffered in recent months due to the southwest monsoon.
What’s next: As of posting, the Philippine Coast Guard has recovered five sacks suspected to contain human bones. Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the search for the missing sabungeros in Lake Taal would likely continue for six months.
According to a whistleblower, as many as 100 sabungeros may have been abducted, killed, then dumped into Lake Taal over cheating during cockfights. He pointed to Charlie “Atong” Ang, a gambling tycoon, as the mastermind.
Full story:
FISHERFOLK from the towns surrounding Lake Taal continue to be affected by the investigation into the missing sabungeros (cockfighters) case.
Authorities had found human remains at the bottom of the lake, prompting a drop in demand for fish sold in the surrounding area.
Among the fish affected is tawilis (Sardinella tawilis), the world’s only freshwater sardine species, which is endemic to the Philippines and classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Amid unfounded fear that the fish might have fed on human remains, UST College of Science Dean Rey Donne Papa has clarified that tawilis remain safe to eat.
“Hindi dapat mag-alangan kumain ng tawilis,” Papa said.
According to Papa, tawilis are zooplanktivores, feeding exclusively on microscopic aquatic animals such as copepods, cladocerans, and rotifers, which are abundant in the upper layers of Lake Taal.
“Pinupuntahan ng mga tawilis ang mga lugar na maraming zooplankton para doon kumain,” Papa explained in a Facebook post.
Papa, a limnologist who has studied Lake Taal since 2003, emphasized that the fish do not—and cannot—venture into the deeper parts of the lake where the human remains were believed to have been dumped.
Lake Taal has an average depth of 80 meters and a maximum of 198 meters, but tawilis remain in the upper 20 to 30 meters, where oxygen is sufficient and their food source is concentrated, Papa explained.
“Wala na din zooplankton na nakakatagal sa ganung kondisyon. Ang mga tawilis ay nananatili sa upper 20-30m ng water column dahil du’n lang mataas ang oxygen levels at du’n din marami ang kanyang kinakaing zooplankton,” Papa said.
As the corpses were likely weighed down to keep them from surfacing, they sank to oxygen-deprived depths where neither tawilis nor their prey could survive.
Decomposition in tropical lakes also occurs rapidly due to microbial activity and nutrient levels, making it highly unlikely that any organic material remains could affect fish.
The UST Aquatic Guild of Scientists issued a statement urging the public not to let unfounded fears harm the fishing community, which relies heavily on the lake’s resources for livelihood.
On July 17, two sacks believed to contain human remains were retrieved from Lake Taal. A rib bone was recovered, said Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.
The retrieval operations were temporarily halted the next day due to inclement weather.
Papa has served as chairperson of the research council of the Protected Area Management Board for Taal Volcano Protected Landscape since 2022.
He is also one of the project leaders of the Taal Post-Eruption Ecological Research program funded by the National Research Council of the Philippines. Justin Jacob S. Urag with reports from Jenna Mariel A. Gonzales
