ESPANA, Philippines -- Local Filipino fisherman Robert Naiya looks out across the still waters towards the bow of the ill-fated MV Princess of the Stars and asks: "What about us?"

"We should be out fishing today," he said, but a government ban has meant that Naiya and his friends just sit on their colorful boats that dot the beach, talking and wondering what the future holds.

The near 24,000-ton passenger ferry capsized during Typhoon Fengshen on June 21 with more than 850 people on board in this picturesque bay on the south coast of Sibuyan island in the central Philippines.

There have been fewer than 60 survivors so far.

While lamenting the huge loss of life, Naiya feels he and those living in this coastal town and others like it are the forgotten victims of the tragedy.

The government suspended all diving operations to recover bodies inside the vessel and banned fishing around the island on Friday after it was revealed the ferry was carrying a highly toxic pesticide.

The crescent-shaped island has one of the country's most diverse marine eco systems.

Should the chemicals leak into its pristine waters the impact on local marine life would be devastating, according to marine biologists.

With their houses devastated by the typhoon and their livelihoods on the line, people such as Naiya are being forced to beg for food from relatives to feed their families.

"I have four hungry children," he told Agence France-Presse.

"We have no rice, no money. Now we can't even go out to sea to fish. That's all we have got. We are a poor people."

"Aid from the government has been slow," Naiya said as he puts his blue motorized boat into a dry dock in Espana, a small fishing village.

Health officials are now conducting tests on samples taken from the area, and while initial results showed no contamination, experts are taking no chances.

But in the meantime, already poor fishermen are wondering what will happen to them.

"What about us?" the 50-year-old Naiya asked.

"What about the fishermen of Sibuyan?"

"The sea is all we know. We have been fishermen all our lives, how will we live?"

The local village chief, Donato Royo, said most of the 600 families living here rely on the Sibuyan Sea for their livelihood.

"Our livelihood has been paralyzed by this ferry," he said, as he appealed for aid from the government.

"Our children's main staple is rice and fish. Rice is in short supply because of the typhoon and now the government has taken away our right to fish."

Marine biologist Emmanuel Asis, the provincial fisheries officer, said there has not been any clear evidence of contamination, but if the pesticide should get into the water the impact would be devastating to local marine life.

"It could kill fish, kill the corals and lead to the degeneration of the water quality here."

He said he understands the plight of the fishermen, but "sometimes we have to sacrifice for the greater good."

"We should not panic," he said, adding that he believes the problem could be dealt with swiftly once salvage crews pinpoint the cargo's exact location and take it out of the sea.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, who flew into the tiny island on Saturday to supervise the relief operation, said a 15-man crew of foreign and local experts would shortly make a detailed inspection of the ferry.

"This is a highly complex operation," he told reporters. "The first order of business is to get the hazardous material out of the water."

In the meantime, he said the national government was aware of the plight of local residents and intends to fly in tons of relief goods, including canned food to provide an alternative diet for the islanders.

For local residents such as Nayia, the food will be welcome but the big question will be the future and when they can get their boats back into the water.