BFAR lifts fishing ban for Sibuyan Island folk

A Coast Guard official said residents of Sibuyan Island in Romblon can now resume fishing as the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has lifted the fishing ban that was imposed following the sinking of M/V Princess of the Stars there last June.

Commodore Cecil Chen, Coast Guard-Batangas District commander, said they got this information from BFAR director Malcolm Sarmiento Jr. who cited findings of the National Pesticide Analytical Laboratory that no residue of endosulfan was detected in the water after the divers removed the last drum of the toxic pesticide last Oct. 5.

“The fish in the Sibuyan Sea are now safe from endosulfan” and can now be eaten as long as they are properly cooked, Chen said.

However, despite the lifting of the fishing ban, Chen said they would still maintain security within a one-kilometer radius of the capsized 23,000-gross-ton M/V Princess of the Stars.

“For safety reasons, they would no longer be allowed to come close to the ship because they could disrupt the ongoing salvage operations,” he said.

Divers of the salvaging firms Titan Maritime Inc. and Harbor Star have begun siphoning off 250,000 liters of bunker fuel from the sunken ship.

The Task Force Princess of the Stars earlier said they hope to complete the removal of all hazardous cargoes from the vessel by the end of this week.

Earlier removed were 400 packs of endosulfan of Del Monte Philippines Inc. (DMPI) as well as Bayer Crop Science products.

The M/V Princess of the Stars, owned by Sulpicio Lines Inc., sank off Sibuyan Island last June 21 at the height of typhoon “Frank” while on its way to Cebu from Manila.

According to the Coast Guard, 32 people survived the tragedy, while more than 200 people died and about 500 others were still missing.