MANILA, Philippines – Ipinagbabawal pa rin ang pagkuha ng mga lamang dagat para sa mga residente ng 12 barangay sa bayan ng Tungawan, Zamboanga Sibugay dahil sa red tide.
Ipinaliwanag ni Salem Pitong, fishery technician ng Tungawan, na “even if the seawater is somewhat clear, we don’t have yet the official findings from the laboratory that the seawater is clear of red tide.”
“They wanted to glean because the sea is quite clear now (and) there was no report of villagers eating shellfish who got poisoned or paralyzed, but we just wanted to make sure they are safe,” dagdag na paliwanag ni Pitong.
“Days before it turned red, we experienced heavy rainfall, we thought it was just flood water that seeped and mixed with the seawater, but the color stayed until July 19.”
Aniya, kumuha sila ng shellfish samples sa Tigbucay Bay para sa laboratory examination at napag-alaman na nagpositibo ito sa red tide.
Sa abiso ni Christopher Ignacio, executive assistant ng Office of the Director, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, noong Agosto 3, kinumpirma na dalawang lugar sa Zamboanga Peninsula ang positibo sa paralytic shellfish poison.
Ito ay ang Dumanguilas Bay sa Zamboanga del Sur at coastal waters ng Tungawan, Zamboanga Sibugay.
Ang 12 apektadong barangay sa Tungawan ay ang Baluran, Masao, Libertad, Tigbanuang, Taglibas, Looc Labuan, Linguisan, Tigbucay, San Vicente, Santo Niño, Tigpalay, at San Pedro. RNT/JGC
