This year’s Fish Conservation Month was celebrated with hook and line fishing contest Friday morning with Baguio Rep. Bernardo Vergara joining students catch tilapia and Japanese coy at the Burnham Park Lake.

Vergara was joined by Department of Agriculture Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-CAR Director Rebecca Dang-awan in releasing Japanese koi carps fingerlings before the solon formally opened the fishing contest.

High school students who joined the contest were judged based on the weight of tilapia or Japanese coy they fished off Burnham Park Lake.

Vergara lauded the initiatives of BFAR saying that scheduled fishing activities or competitions at Burnham Park Lake can attract residents and tourists alike.

BFAR officials and employees came in full force to assist the participants to the hook and line fishing contest while others share the importance of conserving aquatic resources and preserving bodies of water.

Earlier, some 10,000 Japanese koi carps and 5,000 red tilapias were released at the 1.6-hectare Burnham Park Lake.

Based on the result of the biophysico-chemical monitoring of Burnham Park Lake conducted in July last year, the pH level of the water ranged from 9.37 to 9.58 or above the maximum desirable level of 6.5 to 9.0 for better growth and survival of cultured fish.

The pH level of the lake can be lowered to a desirable limit by scattering at least 1,000 kgs of agricultural lime. The PH level of the water can directly affect the health of the fish.

For better survival of the fish, BFAR has recommended that the lake should be excavated to at least one-meter water depth to minimize water turbidity caused by the paddle action of tourists. BFAR has also recommended that periodic fishing be conducted because red tilapia tends to reproduce naturally and that over population of fish within the lake may result in fish kill.