BY MARIE TONETTE MARTICIO
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TACLOBAN CITY – The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) 8 on Thursday warned against eating, harvesting, and buying shellfishes in areas covered by two bays in Eastern Visayas due to red tide.
BFAR 8 Regional Director Juan Albaladejo said the water samples collected along Cancabato Bay in Tacloban City and Matarinao Bay covering the municipalities of General MacArthur, Hernani, Quinapondan, and Salcedo in Eastern Samar are positive for pyrodinium bahamense, a toxic microorganism that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning or “red tide” based on the laboratory examination conducted by the Provincial Marine Biotoxin Laboratory.
“We are issuing this warning as precautionary advice to the public. Fish, squid, crab, and shrimp can be eaten but all entrails must be removed and washed thoroughly before cooking,” he said.
