By Sarwell Meniano
TACLOBAN CITY –Seven bays in Eastern Visayas are still affected by the toxic red tide, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) reported on Friday.
Based on an examination of shellfish and seawater samples, five bodies of water were found to have toxic red tide beyond the regularity limit.
These are Daram Island in Samar; Zumarraga Island in Samar; Irongirong Bay in Catbalogan City in Samar province; Matarinao Bay in General MacArthur, Quinapondan, Hernani and Salcedo in Eastern Samar; and Biliran Island in Biliran province.
The public is strictly advised not to collect, sell or eat any type of shellfish, including small shrimp, from these areas, the BFAR advisory said.
Fish, squid, shrimp, and crabs are safe for human consumption if they are fresh and washed thoroughly and the internal organs, such as gills and intestines, are removed before cooking.
Seawater from the three other bays in Samar was found to have Pyrodinium bahamense, a dinoflagellate that produces red tide toxin — San Pedro Bay in Basey and the coastal waters of Calbayog City.
“To safeguard human lives, we are issuing this warning as precautionary advice to the public to refrain from gathering, selling, and eating all types of shellfish and Acetes sp., locally known as alamang or hipon, from these bays,” BFAR said in its local shellfish bulletin.
The seawater condition can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning and death.
Nationwide, there are only seven bays included in the latest national shellfish bulletin, with five areas located in Eastern Visayas. The other two are Dumanquilas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur and the coastal waters of Tungawan in Zamboanga Sibugay.
BFAR said the presence of red tide cysts in the region’s bays triggered the recurrence of the phenomenon. Frequent rains may cause runoff of soil sediments rich in organic load that fertilizes the cyst of red tide. (PNA)
