Inquirer News

Shellfish banned in 10 areas due to red tide

Red tide levels could be high in some coastal areas in the Visayas and Mindanao, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said on Tuesday.

BOHOL folk collect seashells despite a red tide scare in Tagbilaran Bay. In the background is Dauis town in Panglao Island. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources has raised a red tide alert in some coastal areas in Visayas and Mindanao including in Bohol due to red tide toxins. Cebu Daily News file photo / SHERWIN SAPONG

MANILA, Philippines — Shellfish ban is up in 10 areas all over the country as red tide toxins continued to plague several provinces, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources reported.

The red tide-infested bays include the coastal waters of Milagros in Masbate; coastal waters of Dauis and Tagbilaran City in Bohol; San Pedro Bay in Western Samar; Matarinao Bay in Eastern Samar; Dumanquillas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur; Murcielagos Bay in Zamboanga del Norte; and Lianga Bay in Surigao del Sur. Carigara Bay in Leyte and the coastal waters of Biliran Island are now positive for red tide.

“Red tide” is used to describe the algal bloom phenomenon wherein the water is discolored by high concentrations of toxic and nontoxic algae.

—KARL R. OCAMPO
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