THE coastal waters of Zumarraga Island in Samar have been cleared from toxic red tide, but the condition persists in six bays in Eastern Visayas, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) reported on Wednesday.
After water samples turned negative of red tide for weeks, the seawater of Zumarraga Island is not anymore included in both local and national shellfish bulletins.
However, six other bays remained in the list of red tide affected areas with four listed in the latest national shellfish bulletin, while two are under local shellfish bulletin.
An area is included in the national shellfish bulletin if both shellfish and seawater samples turn positive of the toxic organism.
Four of the six identified areas are Daram Island in Samar; Irongirong Bay in Catbalogan City in Samar province; Matarinao Bay in General MacArthur, Quinapondan, Hernani and Salcedo in Eastern Samar; and Biliran Island in Biliran province.
Seawater from the two other bays in Samar was found to have Pyrodinium bahamense, a dinoflagellate that produces red tide toxin --San Pedro Bay in Basey and the coastal waters of Calbayog City.
“To safeguard human lives, we are issuing this warning as precautionary advice to the public to refrain from gathering, selling, and eating all types of shellfish and Acetes sp., locally known as alamang or hipon, from these bays,” BFAR said in its local shellfish bulletin.
Fish, squid, shrimp, and crabs are safe for human consumption if they are fresh and washed thoroughly, and the internal organs, such as gills and intestines, are removed before cooking.
The fisheries bureau warned that the seawater condition can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning and death.
Nationwide, there are only six bays included in the latest national shellfish bulletin, with five areas located in Eastern Visayas.
The other two are Dumanquilas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur and the coastal waters of Tungawan in Zamboanga Sibugay.
The BFAR said the presence of red tide cysts in the region’s bays triggered the recurrence of the phenomenon.
Frequent rains may cause runoff of soil sediments rich in organic load that fertilizes the cyst of red tide. (PNA)
