Numerous dead tilapia were found in Lake Buhi in Camarines Sur and overfeeding, alongside excessive heat, were seen as main causes.
The Buhi Municipal Agriculture's office said there was no fish kill.
"Sa hiling ko po an sobrang init saka overfeeding po ngani kan satuyang mga fish cage operator [an] nagiging kawsa kaning may dikit-dikit na nagagadan na sira," Buster Ibarbia, senior agriculturist at the Buhi Municipal Agriculture's Office, said.
The Municipal Agriculture's Office and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) have advised fish cage operators to adhere to proper feeding practices to prevent similar incidents.
The two agencies have implemented measures to regulate feeding at fish ponds and are conducting regular water analyses together with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
"Na kung dati halimbawa 10,000 to 20,000 pieces per hectare, or saro kada duwang pidaso per square meter para duman sa mga semi-intensive na fishpond. So we have to check on itong feeding mechanism ninda, kasi we always advise them to follow the good aqua-culture practices," Wheng Bricia-Briones, BFAR Bicol's spokesperson, said.
Meanwhile, vendors have taken the initiative of removing the dead tilapia that were caught accidentally with the fresh catch.
"Pighahali na lang po, pig[se]separate na lang po. Kadikit man lang yan," said Jocelyn Viba, one of the local vendors.