The name is absent

Fig. 1. Spot Image of Mt.
Plnatubo before eruption.
(This page's photos cour-
tesy of M.P. Atrigenlo,
P. Allfio and R. Bifia)

Introduction

MountPinatuboin north-
western Philippines
had been dormant for
six centuries. Iteruptcd
again in June 1991.
The volcano’s ash and
pyroclastic flows almost buried
three surrounding provinces and
their infrastructure, making barren the
agricultural Iandsandhasteningtheclosurc
of the nearby American military base. A
strong typhoon worsened the effects.
Heavy rainfall created lahar, greatly
adding to the loss of human lives, livestock
and agricultural crops. The sadder
postscript to all of these is that, after the
damage to rice and to other crops,
notwithstanding the displaced families,
thecommunities Iivingaround the slopes
of Mt. Pinatubo may till barren lands for
years.

Six months after that devastating
eruption, the Philippine government was
still resettling and rehabilitating the
affected communities, farms and
infrastructure. However, the fishing
industry and the marine environment
appear to have been neglected. The coastal
province OfZambalcs (Fig. 1 and location
map) seems the only one affected, and
little is known that there is also damage
to inland fisheries in the provinces of
Pampanga and Bataan . The Philippine

Department of Agriculture reported a

fisheries loss of P30.4
million (USS 1.14 million
as of January 1992)
covcri ng an area of over
2,500 ha, but this figure
does not tell how gravely
this industry has been
affected. Reports on the

effects of Mt. Pinatubo
on Philippine fisheries
from the University of the Philippines
Marine Science Institute (UPMSI) and
the Philippine Council for Aquatic and
Marine Resources Development of the
Department of Science and Technology
(PCAMRD-DOST) providesomeinsights.

Coral Reef Survey

TheUPMSI, in collaboration with the
Haribon Foundation for the Conservation

• ICLARM Contribution No. 829.

NAGA, THE ICLARM QUARTERLY

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