INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
DAGUPAN CITY – Law enforcers confiscated have seized 55 sacks of mussels, which were harvested from the red tide affected town of Anda in western Pangasinan.
Emma Molina, city agriculturist, said the mussels were loaded in a small truck and in a closed van and were about to be unloaded at the Magsaysay Fish Market here at 10 p.m. Friday when law enforcers saw it.
“We cannot allow these mussels and other shellfish from Anda and Bolinao to be sold here because their coastal areas have red tide,” said Molina in a telephone interview.
On Thursday, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources raised the red tide alarm in Anda and Bolinao towns after red tide toxins have contaminated the towns’ coastal waters.
Nester Domenden, BFAR regional director, said that tests conducted on water samples from six stations in the area indicated toxin levels beyond the normal limit that could be harmful and even cause death.
“We have sent an advisory to the two affected towns to hold all shellfish gathered there today because these are not safe for human consumption,” said Domenden in a telephone interview.
“The public should also refrain from eating, harvesting, transporting and selling shellfish from the affected areas until the toxicity level has gone down,” he said.
According to the Department of Health website, symptoms of red tide poisoning include dizziness, headache, facial numbness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and paralysis and breathing difficulty.
Molina said the seized mussels, which was worth P15,950, was burned at the city dump in Barangay (village) Bonuan Gueset.
Molina said a team composed of representatives from the city health office, Philippine National Police and her office has been on a 24-hour alert for shellfish from red tide affected towns.
RELATED STORY
Scientists find surgery, cancer use for mussels