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Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Bureau warns against eating Siaton shellfish
Shellfish from Siaton, Negros Oriental were found unsafe to eat because of red tide toxins, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) 7 said in an advisory yesterday.
Latest laboratory analyses of the BFAR and local government units showed that aside from Negros Oriental, other places were also found positive for toxic red tide organisms.
These are the coasts of Milagros in Masbate; Honda Bay in Puerto Princesa, Palawan; Dumanquillas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur; Balite Bay in Mati, Davao Oriental; Juag Lagoon in Matnog, Sorsogon; Irong-Irong Bay in Samar; and Bislig Bay in Bislig City, Surigao del Sur.
Red tide is caused by the blooms of a dinoflagellate that produces potent neurotoxins. The bloom turns the seawater red. Red tide populations below the fish kill level can still contaminate shellfish.
Bivalve shellfish, especially oysters, clams and coquinas, can accumulate a lot of toxins that they become poisonous to humans.
BFAR 7 Information Officer Lourdes S. Arciaga, in an interview over dyLA, said they are also monitoring other coastal waters such as Bais Bay in Negros Oriental, Candijay Bay in Bohol Province and the northern towns of Bantayan and Bogo.
Arciaga said the local government of Siaton requested BFAR 7 to conduct a test on shellfish when seven people landed at a hospital after eating a green mussel locally known as “tahong” last week.
In an advisory furnished to Sun.Star Cebu, lawyer Benjamin Felipe Tabios Jr., officer-in-charge of BFAR 7, said that fish caught in Siaton, Negros Oriental, however, is safe for consumption, provided that these are fresh and washed thoroughly. Gills and intestines of fish should also be taken out before cooking. (JST)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 7, 2006 issue)
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