QUEZON CITY – The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources(BFAR) latest shellfish advisory for Sorsogon Bay confirmed that the Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB)or red tide monitoring that the shellfish sample collected by their agency and the local government unit from Sorsogon Bay in Sorsogon are now POSITIVE for Paralytic shellfish poison (PSP) or red tide toxin.
The level of the toxin in the shellfish sample collected from the area is 92.64 – 551.54 pgSTXeq/100mg of shellfish meat.
It will be recalled that BFAR Bicol on December last year the Bay was declared positive of the red tide but was lifted by Shellfish Advisory No. 23 on March this year.
The Harmful algal bloom is a recurrent expensive and at times fatal problem plaguing Sorsogon Bay and it experienced prolonged shellfish bans due to blooms by the Paralytic shellfish Poisoning causative species Pyrodinium bahamense var.compressum(Pbc) as explained by BFAR.
The advisory cautioned the public to refrain from eating, gathering or harvesting, transporting and marketing shellfish from Sorsogon Bay until such time that the shellfish toxicity level had gone down below the regulatory limit of 60 pgSTXeg/100mg of shellfish meat.
It also informed the public that fish harvested from the area covered by Sorsogon Bay are safe for human consumption and should be fresh and washed thoroughly with the internal organs such as gills and intestines are removed before cooking.
The advisory was released today, June 25, 2021.