Four Pangasinan Areas Affected by Red Tide

Other towns affected by red tide, also called Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB), are Bani, Anda and Bolinao.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ Marine Biotoxin Monitoring Section (MBMS) in Manila issued Shellfish Bulletin No. 5 on 23 February warning that shellfish in the coastal waters of Alaminos were found positive of paralytic shellfish poison.

The bulletin warned against harvesting, transporting, selling and eating shellfish taken from the coastal waters of Alaminos City and other coastal waters previously found positive of paralytic shellfish poison to be beyond the regulatory limit and therefore not safe for human consumption.

Director Westly Rosario, chief of the National Integrated Fisheries and Technology Development Authority (NIFTDC) in Dagupan City, said red tide and the coming of neap tide from February 27 to 29 may conspire together to bring another fishkill in western Pangasinan.

Neap tide is the condition when the water in rivers that are near the sea is hardly moving, Rosario said during the KBP Forum Thursday.

In Dagupan City, the City information Office reported that the Agriculture Office has issued a directive requiring fish and shellfish merchants to present auxiliary invoice first before unloading their commodities to the city’s fish markets.

City Agriculture Officer Emma Molina said the directive took effect on February 24 pursuant to the bulletin issued by BFAR maintaining the red tide alert in the four western towns.

Under the directive, the fish traders including transporters and dealers must secure the domestic fish movement clearance from the BFAR.

To ensure the consumers’ health, Molina said market inspectors and quarantine inspectors will demand from fish and shellfish traders the invoice which shall serve as the clearance certifying that the products are not from areas found positive of paralytic shellfish poison.

Dagupan waters, so far, remain free from red tide.