ABUCAY, Bataan- Fishermen and others dependent on the shellfish business in Bataan on Wednesday feared that many will get hungry if the shellfish ban due to the red tide drags on for months like in past years.
“Kakaunti na nga lang ang inaaning tahong, sasabihin pang may red tide eh di lalong maraming mamamatay sa gutom,” said shellfi sh dealer Tata Garcia at the Wawa fishport in Abucay, Bataan. The woman said they do not believe that there is red tide in Abucay. “Halos arawaraw kumakain kami ng tahong at talaba,” she said.
Guillermo del Rosario, chair of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (FARMC) in Abucay, said he has talked with many fishermen. “Wala raw silang nararamdamang red tide dahil patuloy ang pagkain nila ng shellfish,” he said.
The fisherfolk leader however said that many fishermen have stopped gathering shellfi sh when informed of the shellfish advisory from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
“Ang ikinatatakot ng mga mangingisda na bukod sa shellfish, baka pati panghuhuli ng isda at ibang lamang-dagat maapektuhan dahil sa bali-balitang red tide,” Del Rosario said.
If the shellfish ban drags on for months, he asked that government provide them and other dependents on the shellfish business, as well as other fishermen to be affected, of an alternative livelihood and assistance in the form of relief goods.
When the shellfish ban was imposed in Bataan on November 22, 2011, it was only lifted sometime April 2012, creating furor from fishermen and sellers. BFAR banned effective Tuesday the gathering, selling, transporting and eating of shellfish in the whole province after laboratory tests showed that shellfi sh samples taken in Orani, Bataan showed toxin level of 265 milligrams saxo-toxin per 100 mg shellfish meat.
Tolerable limit for shellfish to be safe for eating is 60 mg STx per 100 mg shellfish meat. The provincial fisheries’ office continued monitoring the dreaded red tide in the coastal areas in the towns of Orani, Samal, Abucay, Pilar, Orion, Limay and Mariveles and the City of Balanga.
Technicians gather samples of shellfish like tahong, talaba, lukan, sulib and paros for transmission to the BFAR’s Region 3 and main offi ce in Manila, said worker Benjamin Bugay.
Provincial Agriculturist Imelda Inieto said that only shellfish and alamang are contaminated by the red tide toxin.
“Ligtas kainin ang isda at pusit basta sariwa at nalinis ng maayos ang lamang-loob,” she said.
