JIABONG, Samar — The normally busy stretch of the Maharlika Highway in this town is once again desolate. Stalls along the road that were once piled high with tahong (mussels) and talaba (oysters) are empty except for a few bottles of fermented shellfish that are among the must-buy products of the town.

Those familiar with this recurring scene need not take a second guess — Maqueda Bay is once again infested with the deadly red tide.

In her house, 34-year-old Josie Abaracoso is busy packing their things as she and her son prepare to go back for the meantime to their village in a nearby town.

“We do not know how long this red tide will last. We are fortunate that we have our farm where we can get our food in times like this,” she said.

Abaracoso’s fishing boat has been lying idle under their house for over a month now since the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources imposed a ban on the harvesting, collecting, and eating of all types of shellfish from Maqueda Bay last 16 August after shellfish meat samples exceeded the regulatory limits.

The ban effectively put a stop to the livelihood of thousands of shellfish gatherers from seven towns around the bay — Jiabong, Motiong, Paranas, San Sebastian, Calbiga, Pinabacdao and Hinabangan.

The shellfish ban is also in effect on Daram Island, Zumarraga Island, Cambatutay Bay, Matarinao Bay, Irong-Irong Bay and Carigara Bay — all of which are rich sources of shellfish in Eastern Visayas.

“We have had this problem for decades now. The government should somehow find a lasting solution to overcome this problem,” Abaracoso said.

Glycogen from tahong

On the new campus of the University of the Philippines Tacloban in Sta. Elena village, work has started on the construction of the Mussel Glycogen Production Plant.

UP president Angelo Jimenez led the ceremonial groundbreaking for the construction of the plant last 23 May. The plant, funded with an P8-million grant from the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DoST-PCAARRD), will be a pilot laboratory for the extraction of glycogen from tahong.

“This provides the tahong with a crucial added value as a non-food product. It will address the economic losses of mussel farmers whose harvests have been regularly devastated by the poisonous plankton species that cause red tide,” Jimenez said.

Professor Leni Yap-Dejeto, who started the research on the extraction of glycogen from tahong, said green mussels in Eastern Visayas have good potential because they are meatier.

She likened the extraction of glycogen to the extraction of coconut milk from coconuts.

“We have developed a technique to extract glycogen without destroying the meat. The meat remains intact so it can be eaten or processed into usual tahong-based products,” she said. “But these can only be eaten if there is no red tide.

Glycogen has an increasing market as an important ingredient in cosmetics manufacturing due to its moisturizing and potentially firming properties. Glycogen can primarily be found in moisturizing creams due to its humectant effect.

“This will give our small fisherfolk and shellfish gatherers a steady source of income even at times when there is red tide,” Dejeto said. In one online store, 500 grams of glycogen powder sells for $9,250.

Dejeto said the Mussel Glycogen Production Plant will demonstrate how glycogen can be mass produced from green mussels for possible commercial production by private individuals or businesses.

Dejeto, whose research interests are on phytoplanktons and taxonomy which are geared towards harmful algal blooms that are responsible for red tides, said she is also trying to find a way to remove the red tide toxins from tahong.

“I am trying to develop a way to remove the entrails of the mussel and remove the toxins so these can be consumed. This will entail more intensive testing,” she said.

Jiabong town, the so-called tahong capital of Eastern Visayas, has more than 3,000 hectares of potential mussel farms, with around 160-200 hectares devoted to tahong farming in Jiabong. It supplies the biggest volume of tahong in Manila, Cebu and Davao.

In recent years, residents of Jiabong were able to process them into tahong crackers and pre-cooked tahong meat which is sold at P250 a kilo.