The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) released a “shellfish bulletin” dated Jan. 25, 2024 informing the public about some seafoods that tested positive for “paralytic shellfish poison (PSP) or toxic red tide.”
According to BFAR, shellfishes collected and tested from the coastal waters of Dauis and Tagbilaran City, Bohol; Dumanquillas Bay, Zamboanga del Sur; Lianga Bay, Surigao del Sur; and San Benito, Surigao del Norte are still positive for PSP that is beyond the regulatory limit.
PSP was also traced in the coastal waters of Milagros, Masbate; San Pedro Bay, Samar; and Matarinao Bay, Eastern Samar. “All types of shellfish and ‘acetes’ or ‘alamang’ gathered from the areas shown above are NOT SAFE for human consumption,” BFAR noted in its bulletin.
“Fish, squids, shrimps, and crabs are SAFE for human consumption provided that they are fresh and washed thoroughly, and internal organs such as gills and intestines are removed before cooking,” the agency advised.
Eating toxic shellfish may affect the nervous system with symptoms usually manifesting within 30 minutes. In the Philippines, victims of red tide poisoning experienced gastrointestinal and neurological illnesses with deaths secondary to ventilatory failure, according to the National Library of Medicine.