SIBUYAN ISLAND, Romblon -- The sinking of the M/V Princess of the Stars has cast a pall over the coastal town of San Fernando that has not lifted four months after the tragedy.

The town of 22,000 is experiencing a kind of collective inertia. As long as the ship is marooned off their shores, its bulbous bow seen from land, they will not be able to completely move on, San Fernando Mayor Nanette Tansingco said.

A private salvage company, Harbor Star, is currently retrieving bodies trapped inside the ship, which capsized June 21 when it sailed into typhoon “Frank” while en route from Manila to Cebu City. Of the 864 people aboard, only 56 survived. Around 350 bodies were earlier recovered but the others remain unaccounted for.

The company, in a report on Tuesday, said divers had started to scour the rear part of the economy class section, removing 17 bodies and bringing the total pulled out so far to 40 since recovery operations resumed on Sunday.

Although the Department of Health has said it is safe to eat seafood from the Sibuyan Sea, many residents still shun fish for meat and vegetables.

Fishermen in the coastal community have fallen on hard times since the town waters became Ground Zero of a maritime disaster.

Officials said there has been a decrease in school attendance because fishing families cannot afford to send their children to school anymore.

Residents said the sinking of the Sulpicio Lines-owned ship not only led to loss of lives, it also caused the death of a way of life.

“It is really different now. Before, we had no problems. Even if we are simple folk, many were able to go to school. Now, everything is in decline,” said Arlene Relos, an employee at the municipal hall.

Relos admitted she now only takes bangus (milkfish) and tilapia brought by the Department of Agriculture to the town every Tuesday afternoon.

She said she missed lapu-lapu, dalagang bukid, and tambalan -- the usual catch from San Fernando waters -- but could not bring herself to eat fish knowing that the vessel, with dead passengers inside it, is still offshore.

“The authorities told us we can eat fish. But we are still scared to eat it. Maybe we will start eating fish if the ship is not there anymore,” Relos said.

“It's a good thing that many people here have backyard gardens and raise native chickens,” she added.

Health authorities had earlier imposed a ban on fish and seafood from Sibuyan waters after it was discovered that the Princess of the Stars carried a shipment of the toxic chemical endosulfan. The chemical has since been removed.

Despite the lifting of the ban on Octiber 13, nobody still wants to buy seafood from Sibuyan and fishermen remain without income. A few lucky ones have found construction jobs, but these jobs are hard to come by.

Antonio Relox, administrator of the Romblon State College in San Fernando, said second semester classes started on Monday but many students have yet to enroll.

He said a 30 percent decrease in enrollment is expected, the biggest since he started teaching in the school decades ago.

“They lost their income so the students are having a hard time in going back to school,” Relox said.

The residents are looking forward to their town fiesta on December 8, but admit that there would be less dancing and celebration because the local government has run out of funds.

The hope is that the capsized vessel will at least be out of sight by then.

Undersecretary Elena Bautista, chief of the Task Force Princess of the Stars, said she expected the capsized ship to be re-floated and towed away in time for the town fiesta.

When that happens, the cloud of gloom will probably go away.