Red tide spreads to another bay in Eastern Visayas

published August 31, 2010 in BusinessWorld

TACLOBAN CITY -- The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has confirmed the presence of red tide toxins in Carigara Bay, bringing to two the affected areas in Eastern Visayas.

Juan D. Albaladejo, BFAR Eastern Visayas director, said Carigara was listed among the six areas in the country with confirmed red tide toxins.

A shellfish ban has been imposed in these areas based on a bulletin issued by BFAR central office last Aug. 20.

"Our monitoring team augmented by teams from local government units has been getting samples twice a week and it will be more frequent depending on the situation," Mr. Albaladejo said in a mobile phone interview.

Red tide has been previously confirmed in Matarinao Bay in Eastern Samar, where the toxicity level that reached 4,000 cells per milliliter in April this year had been described as "alarming."

Other affected areas are Honda Bay in Puerto Princesa, Dumanquillas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur, Murcielagos Bay in Zamboanga del Norte and Misamis Oriental and Sorsogon Bay in Sorsogon.

The Fisheries bureau has issued the red tide alert for Carigara Bay following the submission of laboratory results by the Leyte Marine Biotoxins Testing Center in Palo, Leyte.

Mr. Albaladejo clarified that there is no cause for alarm since Carigara is not known as a major source of shellfish in the region.

An oyster culture site is operating in nearby Capoocan town but its production is mainly intended for ornamental purposes, he added.

He expressed concern, however, that toxins could spread to nearby areas such as Leyte-Leyte where mussel is being cultured.

"We are hoping that the southwest monsoon winds will wash the toxins away to deeper seas," Mr. Albaladejo said.

Mr. Albaladejo said that based on official analysis per 100 grams of shellfish meat from Carigara, red tide is present in 124 micrograms. The figure is beyond the tolerance level of 80 micrograms.

"We’ve been observing the bay for the past two weeks before our central office issued the shellfish ban," he added.

Meanwhile, the bureau has maintained the red tide alert in Eastern Samar’s Matarinao Bay, where red tide toxins have been detected since last summer.

Mr. Albaladejo said the prolonged existence of red tide toxins in the area may be attributed to the absence of movement of inland water due to absence of weather disturbances in the past months.

"Big waves brought by typhoons can drive these toxins to deeper seas, where these won’t survive," he said.

A shellfish ban has been imposed in Matarinao since March 16 this year.

The harvest, sale and consumption of shellfish are prohibited along the coastal towns of Salcedo, Quinapondan, McArthur and Hernani in Eastern Samar.

Red tide refers to the phenomenon wherein water is discolored by high algal biomass or concentration of algae.

The discoloration may not necessarily be red in color but it may also appear yellow, brown, green, blue or milky, depending on the organisms involved. (Sarwell Q. Meniano)