Saturday, June 28, 2008 BFAR: Fish from Romblon waters safe to eat
THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Thursday issued an advisory that fish caught near Romblon, Masbate, and Panay waters are still safe for human consumption as it rejected fears that fish could have gnawed the casualties in the MV Princes of the Stars.
In a statement sent to media outlets in the Visayas, BFAR Director Malcolm Sarmiento explained: "(That) even carnivorous fish species have their very own food preferences and flesh from mammals is not used as baits."
Therefore, eating of fish caught in the waters of Romblon, Masbate, and Quezon is considered safe, Sarmiento said, adding that "Even hook and line fishermen would attest that carnivorous fish species has preferences over food."
Sarmiento also said that based on theory, fish are classified according to their feeding behavior -- the surface feeders and bottom feeders.
At the base of the food web are the plankton feeders, which are being preyed upon by carnivores.
Herbivores fish, said Sarmiento, are those that feed on plants, while omnivores feed on both plants and animals.
On the other hand, he said fish that are surface feeders include galunggong; tamban (planktonic); hasa-hasa; alumahan; samnaral; and danggit (herbivore).
Bottom feeders include lapu-lapu (carnivore); crabs (carnivore); and shrimps (scavenger), he added in a statement.
Sarmiento added since dead bodies of animals, including human cadavers, float in the water after some time, the demersal or bottom feeders could not feed on these.
Pelagic species such as the carnivorous shark and barracudas, on the other hand, prefer "live prey," he explained. "Only shrimp, squid, chopped fish and polychaetes or marine worms can be used as baits," he added. (Erwin Ambo Delilan)
