Breakthroughs Today

THE BUREAU OF Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) issued on Novembe 12 Shellfish Bulletin No. 25, reporting that six provinces around the country continue to be deadly for consumers. In Mindanao three provinces--Zamboanga Del Sure (Dumanquillas Bay), Zamboanga Del Norte and Misamis Occidental (along Murcielagos Bay)--are still positive of paralytic shellfish poison. Matarinao Bay in Eastern Samar (Visayas) and Masinloc Bay in Zambales (Luzon) are also positive at levels beyond the regulator limit. Meanwhile, the coastal waters of Bataan, covering the towns of Mariveles, Limay, Orion, Pillar, Balanga, Orani, Abucay and Samal, are now positive for the red tide toxin, Saxi-Toxin (STX). BFAR personnel detected 70-5,617 grams STX per 100 g of shellfish meat tested. A 71-year-old woman already died in Masinloc, Zambales for eating harvested shellfish.

NOT ALL things written must be understood literally. Many times meanings between the lines can be more fruitful than literalism. That, too, is true with red tide. A natural phenomenon known as “harmful algal bloom” (HAB), red tide does not necessarily show redness, or even any discoloration, in the affected seawater. Red tide results from... [ Read more. ]  This article appears in SunStar Cebu on 15 December 2010.