SAN ANTONIO, Zambales—The coastal waters of this province and three other provinces in Central Luzon remained free of the toxic red tide, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Central Luzon said Monday, May 16.
Citing its latest laboratory test on shellfish samples, BFAR said all types of shellfish gathered from the coastal waters of Zambales, Bataan, Pampanga, and Bulacan are safe for human consumption.
BFAR regularly collects samples from these areas to determine the presence of toxic microorganisms that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning.
In Zambales, Masinloc Bay is one of the areas that BFAR regularly monitors for the presence of red tide toxins.
Red tide toxin refers to algal blooms where the water is discolored by a high concentration of toxic and nontoxic algae.
In December last year, BFAR said red tide toxin hit the coastal waters in nine localities of Bataan.