Samar’s tahong capital now red-tide free

TACLOBAN CITY — Tahong and talaba business in Samar’s green mussel capital of Jiabong grew after the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources lifted the red tide shellfish ban in Maqueda Bay last Wednesday 16 October.

BFAR regional office in Eastern Visayas said the shellfish ban is also lifted in Cambatutay Bay and Matarinao Bay.

Maqueda Bay, which covers the towns of Jiabong, Motiong, Paranas, San Sebastian, Calbiga, Pinabacdao, Hinabangan, is the biggest source of tahong in Eastern Visayas where trading is primarily done in Jiabong, the so-called tahong capital of the region.

BFAR 8 said that while the shellfish ban of the three waters is lifted, a local red tide warning continues in Cambatutay Bay since filtered water samples gathered from the bay remains positive for Pyrodinium bahamense, a dinoflagellate that produces red tide toxin (Saxitoxin).

The agency said the local red tide warning is issued as a “precautionary measure to the public to refrain from gathering, selling, and eating all types of shellfishes and Acetes sp. locally known as “alamang or hipon” from the area to avoid possible Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP).

BFAR 8 said the same warning is also in place in Leyte, Leyte and Calbayog City in Samar.

Meanwhile, BFAR 8 said the shellfish ban remains in place in five coastal waters due to the presence of red tide. These are Biliran Island, Carigara Bay in Leyte, and in Samar’s Daram Island, Zumarraga Island and Irong-Irong Bay.

BFAR 8 said harvesting, eating and collecting all types of shellfish and Acetes sp. “alamang” from these waters are strictly prohibited where violators will be meted with penalties.