MARKET inspectors in Dagupan tightened their watch over the fish and other products being unloaded in the city, as the shellfish ban in Bolinao and Anda, Pangasinan, is still in effect.
Inspectors still strictly require shippers to present auxiliary invoice stating where their shipments originated before they are allowed to unload their cargo at the Dagupan City Fish Market, said City Agriculture Officer Emma Molina.
The auxiliary invoice is issued by the city or municipal agriculture offices where the products came from, certifying that the products shipped are safe, she said.
This has to be done strictly as Shellfish Bulletin issued on May 10 by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources reported that the laboratory results on samples collected from Bolinao and Anda were still positive for paralytic shellfish poison beyond the regulatory limit.
The toxic paralytic poison is brought about by the growth of red tide organisms in the coastal waters of Bolinao and Anda when the salinity of water is unusually high.
Molina added that in view of the new shellfish bulletin, market personnel in Dagupan have not lifted their guard in order not to give unscrupulous businessmen a chance to bring contaminated mussels.
Molina, however, said the oysters produced in commercial scale in Dagupan and raised in various rivers were not affected by paralytic shellfish poisoning and fit for local consumption.
The Dagupan oysters are smaller and darker as compared to the bigger and whiter oysters raised in the coastal water of Bolinao and Anda. (PNA)