Leyte: Shellfish meat collected in the coastal waters of Leyte town in Leyte province tested positive for red tide toxins, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) regional office here warned on Tuesday. In an advisory, BFAR said that paralytic shellfish toxin was detected during laboratory examination at the BFAR-Regional Fisheries Laboratory in this city.
According to Philippines News Agency, 'To safeguard human lives and mitigate impacts on the shellfish industry while awaiting the BFAR central office test result, this local red tide warning is issued as a public advice to refrain from gathering, selling, and eating all types of shellfish and Acetes sp., locally known as Alamang or Hipon, from this bay,' the bureau stated.
Through testing, BFAR found that shellfish samples from the coastal waters contained over 60 micrograms of toxins per 100 grams of meat, exceeding the regulatory limit. Shellfish meat samples gathered in the coastal waters of Leyte have been sent to the BFAR National Fisheries Laboratory for confirmatory tests and inclusion in the nationwide shellfish bulletin. Leyte town is located in the northwestern part of Leyte Island.
Meanwhile, BFAR cleared the coastal waters of Guiuan, Eastern Samar; Cancabato Bay in Tacloban City; and Irong-Irong Bay in Catbalogan City of the toxic red tide. However, Matarinao Bay in the coastal towns of General MacArthur, Quinapondan, Hernani, and Salcedo in Eastern Samar province remains listed in the national shellfish ban.
An area is included in the national shellfish bulletin if both shellfish and seawater samples test positive for the toxic organism, as determined by laboratory testing at the BFAR main office. The change in weather patterns has been blamed for the red tide presence in the region, according to BFAR.
Fish, squid, crab, and shrimp gathered from these areas are safe to eat provided that all entrails are removed and the seafood is washed thoroughly with running water before cooking. The BFAR urged local governments to increase vigilance against gathering, trading, and eating shellfish to prevent paralytic shellfish poisoning, which can occur within minutes after consuming bivalves with red tide toxins.
Red tide is a term used to describe a phenomenon where the water is discolored by high algal biomass or a high concentration of algae.
