The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) confirmed Wednesday the presence of toxic red tide in the coastal waters of Zumarraga, Samar. Authorities have raised a local warning advising the public not to collect, sell, or eat any type of shellfish, including small shrimps.
Zumarraga will soon be included in the national shellfish bulletin, which lists areas with confirmed red tide detected through laboratory testing of shellfish meat. Also included in the latest bulletin are Matarinao Bay in General MacArthur, and the towns of Quinapondan, Hernani, and Salcedo in Eastern Samar. Earlier warnings were raised in Cancabato Bay in Tacloban City and Irong-Irong Bay in Catbalogan City.
BFAR clarified that fish, squid, shrimp, and crabs from these areas are safe if fresh, thoroughly washed, and cleaned of internal organs such as gills and intestines before cooking.
“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. The agency warned that red tide can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning and even death.
Nationwide, only three bays are currently included in the national shellfish bulletin, with Dumanquilas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur and the coastal waters of Tungawan in Zamboanga Sibugay as the others. BFAR noted that frequent rains may trigger red tide recurrence by causing runoff of nutrient-rich soil sediments that fertilize red tide cysts.