Only 30 per cent of the bay’s waters are replenished or cleansed through the ebb and flow of the tide, according to the agency.
Reporting on the news Juan Escandor Jr. of the Philippine Daily Inquirer writes that the situation in the 22,000-hectare Sorsogon Bay for shellfish grower and harvesters is getting dimmer as the ban on shellfish has remained for more than two years now.
Del Socorro said Sorsogon Bay is one of the richest fishing grounds in Bicol, with some 5,000 fishing families around the bay depending on it for their livelihood while it continuously attracts merchant capitalists who invest in aquaculture and export of shellfish.
Del Socorro said that as innovation, they are making use of the red tide-infected mussels to create rat poison as well as developing products from the shells as an alternative livelihood.
He said the BFAR is starting to implement the plan to completely eradicate the production of shellfish in Sorsogon Bay and instead it is pushing for mariculture and seaweeds farming in places where production of mussels had been extensive.
Red Tide Lingering in Sorsogon Bay
PHILIPPINES - Sorsogon Bay in the Philippines continues to harbour high concentration of red tide organisms, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said.
