Manila Bay fish catch now safe to eat – BFAR

DELAYED BUT ALMOST DONE Siphoning of industrial fuel from the MVTerranova started late but has already recovered more than 800,000 liters. —RICHARD A. REYES

Fish from all areas in Manila Bay are now safe to eat over a month after three vessels sunk and caused oil spills, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said.

In its latest bulletin posted on Friday, BFAR officer in charge Isidro Velayo Jr. said fish caught in all areas in Manila Bay potentially affected by the incident “are now safe for human consumption” based on latest test results.

Velayo said all samples of fish, crustaceans, cephalopods and shellfish collected on Tuesday from Bacoor City, Cavite City and the towns of Noveleta, Rosario and Tanza have passed the third consecutive round of sensory evaluation.

The BFAR declared fish and other seafood products in Metro Manila, and the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Pampanga and Batangas, along with the municipalities of Naic, Ternate, Kawit and Maragondon in Cavite, fit for human consumption in previous bulletins.

Following the sinking of MT Terranova off Limay, Bataan, last July 25, the BFAR conducted a series of monitoring activities and analyses to ensure the safety of consumption of fish and other seafood products from the fishing areas surrounding Manila Bay.

“Fish in an area can be declared safe for human consumption if samples analyzed have already passed three consecutive batches of sensory evaluation,” Velayo said earlier.

Estimates from BFAR showed that the average income loss is pegged at P346.69 per day or a total of P9.8 million as of Aug. 8.

Thus, the average income loss spanning eight fishing days totaled P78.69 million, although it clarified the figures were subject to verification with concerned government offices.

Spill effect

The oil spill incident last month affected the livelihood of 28,373 fisherfolk in parts of Metro Manila, and the provinces of Cavite and Bataan.

READ: Explainer: Manila Bay oil spills’ harm on fishing, environment, public health

Of these, 26,090 fishers came from many parts of Cavite, and 1,976 fisherfolk from various parts of Bataan. Some hit 307 fishers in Parañaque and Las Piñas cities in Metro Manila were also affected.

BFAR spokesperson Nazario Briguera said early this month the BFAR would not recommend lifting the fishing ban in Cavite.

As of Thursday, milkfish (bangus) retailed from P135 to P240 per kilogram in Metro Manila markets, unchanged from a year ago, based on the Department of Agriculture’s price monitoring.

Tilapia was sold from P110 to P160 per kg, as opposed to the previous P120 to P160 per kg.

Local round scad (galunggong) ranged from P180 to P280 a kilo, also the same as last year’s while imported round scad is not available.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard on Friday said it has collected over 900,000 liters of oil so far from its siphoning operations for sunken vessel MTKR Terranova in Bataan province.

Cleanup ops

In a statement, the PCG said a total of 903,265 liters have been collected from Terranova from Aug. 19 to 29, with their contracted salvor Harbor Star aiming to collect 200,000 liters daily.

Citing figures from Harbor Star, the amount of oil recovered is at 12,437 liters per hour, or over 298,000 liters per day.

As of this writing, the siphoning operation temporarily stopped to change tanks, according to the PCG. The agency’s BRP Sindangan conducted aerial surveillance in the area while divers held an underwater survey.

Terranova, owned by Shogun Ships Co. Inc., capsized last July 25 some 3.6 nautical miles east off Lamao Point in Limay town while it was carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil. One crew member died and 16 others were rescued.

A state of calamity was declared in the entire province of Bataan as well as in nine cities and towns in Cavite in the aftermath of the oil spill.

The PCG earlier warned that should the 1.4 million liters of fuel carried by the tanker leak out, it would be the worst oil spill in the country’s history.

Aside from Terranova, another vessel, MV Mirola 1, ran aground off Mariveles, Bataan, on July 31, while MV Jason Bradley, which had a cargo of 5.5 tons of diesel, capsized off the coast of Bataan on July 23 due to bad weather.

The contracted salvor for these vessels, FES Challenger, continued resealing and patching operations of the vessel’s manhole and air vents.

The Oil Spill Response Team patrolled the coastline and observed no oil sheen.