Many people are amazed at the photos and videos that have been circulated of thousands of pelagic sardines or tamban that washed up on a beach in Sarangani on Sunday, January 7, 2024.
The environment is almost colored silver with the countless piles that the residents just put in their buckets, buckets, and tubs.
It happened in Barangay Tinoto, Maasim, Sarangani province.
For many, this is a great boon from the sea.
But isn’t this a sign of impending disaster?
Residents in Maasim, Sarangani look on as a sea of silver sardines jump along the shoreline last weekend.
For Cirilo Lagnason Jr., researcher of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Soccsksargen Region (DENR-12), he considers it more of a blessing.
“What is better than a morning with the bountiful school of fish flooding the shoreline? Indeed, a bountiful Sarangani Bay,” said Lagnason in a Philippine News Agency report, January 8, Monday.
He said, the incident was probably caused by what is called upwelling.
He described, “[A]n ocean process in which colder water is pushed towards the ocean surface, bringing nutrients, including plankton, to the diet of these juvenile fish.
“As a result, the fish were trapped in shallower areas, making them easier to catch.”
This phenomenon also occurs in Zamboanga, Masbate, and Maguindanao del Norte provinces.
“These fish may still be edible as long as they are consumed immediately or preserved,” reminded Lagnason.
A resident of Maasim, Mark Baya, had a different hunch, saying that the influx of fish on their beach was possibly “advance notice.”
But he thinks, “My fear may be baseless, but who knows.”
There are provinces that also believe this.
Two days after the crowds poured into Maasim, an earthquake shook Sarangani.
EARTHQUAKE SHAKES SARANGANI; NETIZENS CONNECT IT TO JAPAN QUAKE
On Tuesday morning, January 9, a 6.7-magnitude earthquake shook Sarangani, confirmed the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
The earthquake was first reported as 7.1-magnitude, but later on, Phivolcs confirmed that it was 6.7 after recalculation.
The tremors were felt in the towns of Malungon, Alabel, and Kiamba.
No one was reported injured or killed.
Meanwhile, some netizens on Facebook posted warnings before the earthquake happened in Sarangani.
Based on the timeline, the posts were dated a day or two before the earthquake occurred.
There are even calls, “Pray for Sarangani.”
Here are some FB posts by some compatriot netizens who warned following the influx of trash on the beach of Sarangani.
This is also what happened in Japan.
Foreign sites reported on December 19, 2023, the amazement of Japanese officials at the 1,200 tons of fish that washed up on the shores of Hokkaido.
But on January 1, 2024, a 7.6 earthquake occurred that killed more than 200 people.
At press time, more than 100 are still missing.
