Zamboanga City Rep. Lilia Macrohon-Nuno said the White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) has become a serious threat to the fishpond industry and has affected the livelihood of thousands of Filipinos, reports the ManilaStandardToday.
“Its presence is practically all over the Philippines as represented by the geographical location of the provinces that were attacked by the virus in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao,” Ms Macrohon-Nuno said.
The virus attacked the barangays of Vitali, Tictapul and Mangusu in Zamboanga City recently. It can wipe out all shrimps in a farm in two or three days and the infection can eventually cripple the country’s shrimp industry.
Ms Macrohon-Nuno, in her resolution, said the presence of the virus has been detected in various parts of the country and it could affect the status of the Philippines as the world’s third largest export of shimps.
“It has been reported that the normal harvest of 1 to 1.5 ton per hectare per fishpond has been down to 200 kilos or less because of the prevalence of the virus, thereby affecting the livelihood of the families dependent on the fishpond industry,” she said.
