4 P'sinan towns finally free from red tide

DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines – After three months of monitoring, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has finally declared the coastal waters of Bolinao, Anda, Alaminos and Wawa in Bani town, all in Pangasinan, free from red tide.

In a letter, BFAR-Region 1 director Nestor Domenden said laboratory tests conducted by the agency and the concerned local governments showed that shrimps, crabs and shellfish like mussels and oysters gathered from the four towns “are now free from toxic red tide and safe for human consumption.”

But Domenden added that as a precautionary measure, the concerned towns are advised to require market inspectors, quarantine officers and administrators to demand an auxiliary invoice or clearance for fish and shellfish coming from other provinces and towns to ensure that these do not come from red tide-affected areas.

Shellfish traders had been complaining of poor sales for the past three months because of the red tide alert.