• CHERYL G. CRUZ
A shellfish ban is in effect in north and south Bais Bay in Negros Oriental, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-Negros Island Region (BFAR-NIR) said in an advisory last night, Aug. 12.
BFAR-NIR director Rene Parreño said that shellfish meat samples collected from the north and south Bais Bay tested positive for paralytic shellfish toxin, or red tide.
“All types of shellfish and alamang, or hipon, gathered from this bay are not safe for human consumption, he added.
Fish, squid, shrimp, and crab from these waters are safe to consume as long as they are fresh, and their internal organs, such as intestines and gills, are removed and thoroughly washed, the BFAR-NIR said.
The advisory was issued “to safeguard human lives and mitigate impacts to the shellfish industry… (and) as a precautionary advice to the public to refrain from gathering, selling, eating, and using in aquaculture all types of shellfish and alamang from North and South Bais Bay,” the Bureau said.
The coastal waters of Bacolod, Talisay, Silay, E.B. Magalona, Victorias, and Hinigaran in Negros Occidental remain free from the toxic red tide, as of the Aug. 5 bulletin of BFAR.
But shellfish collected and tested from Dumanquillas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur; Tantanang Bay in Zamboanga Sibugay province; Matarinao Bay in Eastern Samar, and the coastal waters of Biliran Island are still positive for paralytic shellfish poison (PSP) that is beyond the regulatory limit, the BFAR said. “Honda and Puerto Princesa bays in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, are now also positive for red tide toxin.” | CGC
