BALANGA CITY — The shellfish ban continued to be imposed in Bataan after the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources declared that red tide is still present along the Manila Bay area of the province, the provincial agriculture office announced Friday.
Provincial agriculturist Joey Dizon said Bataan was placed under the shellfish ban in November 2021 but per BFAR bulletin issued Thursday, the ban is still on.
She said that shellfish samples gathered from nine Bataan towns were still found positive of the red tide toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning.
Dizon said the toxicity level on the samples tested was not indicated in the latest BFAR advisory but the regulatory limit for shellfish to be safe for human consumption is 60 unit grams of toxin per 100 grams of shellfish meat.
Covered by the ban are shellfish raised and gathered from the towns of Hermosa, Orani, Samal, Abucay, Pilar, Orion, Limay and Mariveles, and Balanga City, all coastal areas adjacent to Manila Bay.
The towns of Bagac and Morong are not included in the ban with their coastal areas on the West Philippines Sea.
Dizon said that eating, gathering, transporting, and marketing of tahong, talaba and other shellfish, and alamang are prohibited until BFAR lifted the ban.
She said that fish, shrimps and crabs are safe for human consumption but it should be fresh, gills and intestines removed from the fish and well-cooked.
