ILIGAN CITY (PIA)--To boost the crab population in the municipality of Lala in Lanao del Norte province, the local government unit intensified its interventions for crab farmers to improve their output.

Lala mayor Angelo Yap said the crab population in the municipality has recently declined due to typhoon-induced siltation.
 
"Tinamaan kami ng mga bagyo kaya naging silted na yung area namin," he said during the July 14 episode of Network Briefing News with Communications Secretary Martin Andanar.

Apart from that, Yap also attributed the decrease to chemical pollution and contamination of brackish waters and fishponds in Panguil Bay.

"Malaki yung rice land namin, meron kaming 6,200 hectares tapos yung mga chemical doon (kasi noon gumagamit kami ng mga very harsh na chemicals pero ngayon nag organic na kami) napupunta doon sa Panguil Bay. Hindi totally madrain out. So pag mag high tide, mayroong papasok na sea water tapos maretain ang mga chemical doon," he further said.

[We have a big rice land, we have 6,200 hectares and then the chemicals there (because before we used very harsh chemicals but now we are using organic) goes to Panguil Bay and were not totally drained out. So when there is a high tide, the seawater comes in and the chemicals are retained there.]

In response to this, Yap said they bought an Amphibian backhoe to speed up desilting operations. The LGU also enhanced river channels to improve the flow of water.

Lala is known as the crab capital of Lanao del Norte. Every March 22 of each year, the town holds its Alimango Festival to showcase the crabs that provide a livelihood for residents. During this festival, around 1.5 tons of steamed or cooked crabs are given to the public for free. (APB/PIA-ICIC)