• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The coastal waters of Bacolod City, and neighboring Talisay, Silay, Victorias, E.B. Magalona, and Hinigaran in Negros Occidental remained free from the toxic red tide for more than a year now, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said.
BFAR in Western Visayas also said Nov. 6 that the region is free from red tide as all monitoring sites tested negative for paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP).
These include the coastal waters of Balasan, Tarong in Bancal Bay, and Gigantes Island in Carles; Concepcion, coastal waters of Dumangas, Estancia, and Borongon in San Dionisio, all in Iloilo; Tigbao River (Makato), Navitas River (Numancia), and Palay River (Batan), Mambuquiao, and Altavas, and New Washington in Aklan; and the waters of Sapian Bay, Ivisan, Sapian, Pontevedra, Panay, Pilar, Roxas City, and President Roxas in Capiz.
But the BFAR said that shellfishes collected and tested from Dumanquillas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur; the coastal waters of Daram Island, Zumarraga Island, Irong-Irong Bay in Samar; Carigara Bay in Leyte; Biliran Island in Biliran Province; the coastal waters of Tungawan in Zamboanga Sibugay; Cambatutay Bay in Samar; and of Leyte are still positive for PSP, or toxic red tide, that is beyond the regulatory limit.
The BFAR in Negros Oriental also earlier said that laboratory tests on shellfish samples collected in Tambobo Bay and Siit Bay in Siaton town “tested positive of saxitoxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning and is even deadlier than other algae species, like pyrodinium, that are harmful to humans.”
A red tide warning also remained in effect over Bais Bay in Bais City, Negros Oriental, with the latest sampling, also taken last month, still showed high concentrations of harmful toxins, the Philippine News Agency reported Nov. 5, adding that water samples from Bais Bay in August tested positive for pyrodinium, resulting in a ban on the gathering, consumption, and sale of shellfish and small shrimps.
“All types of shellfish and alamang gathered from areas positive for red tide are not safe for human consumption,” BFAR officer-in-charge Isidro Velayo Jr. said in the latest red tide bulletin. “Fish, squids, shrimps, and crabs are safe for human consumption provided that they are fresh and washed thoroughly, and the internal organs, such as gills and intestines, are removed before cooking.” | CGC
