Residents of Calbayog City, Samar can now be assured that the shellfish hauled from their coastal waters is safe for human consumption.
This, after the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said the coastal waters of the province's largest city are now cleared from toxic red tide after six months.
After water samples turned negative for red tide for weeks, the seawater of Calbayog City was excluded in both local and national shellfish bulletins.
The area has been listed as red tide-hit since July 30, 2024.
However, two other bays remained on the list based on the latest national shellfish bulletin.
These are the coastal waters of Leyte towns in Leyte province; and Matarinao Bay in General MacArthur, Quinapondan, Hernani and Salcedo in Eastern Samar.
An area is included in the national shellfish bulletin if both shellfish and seawater samples turn positive for the toxic organism.
“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 bureau warned that the seawater condition can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning and death.
Nationwide, there are four bays included in the latest national shellfish bulletin, with two areas located in Eastern Visayas.
The other two are Dumanquilas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur province and the coastal waters of Tungawan in Zamboanga Sibugay province.
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.
(With report from PNA)
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