Red tide alert up in certain coastal areas

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MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has issued an alert of another red tide contamination and advised the public against eating shellfish.

Laboratory results showed that the coastal waters of Dauis and Tagbilaran City in Bohol, Dumanquillas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur, and Lianga Bay in Surigao del Sur, have been found positive for paralytic shellfish poison beyond the regulatory limit.

But coastal waters of Milagros in Masbate, Carigara Bay in Leyte, and Murcielagos Bay in Zamboanga del Norte are now free of red tide.

The BFAR said all kinds of shellfish and krill-like prawns from areas under a red tide alert should not be harvested, sold or eaten.

Red tide results from the explosive blooming of algae that produce harmful toxins, according to the BFAR. Such blooms turn water to red.

—KARL R. OCAMPO
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