Fish scare grips Iligan City after Dec. 17 disaster

FISH ANYONE? Northern Mindanao’s fish scare threatens tourism and the local fishing industry itself. INQUIRER file photo

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines—The sale of fish caught in Northern Mindanao has taken a steep dive as talk continues to circulate about fish feeding on human corpses washed out to sea at the height of the Dec. 17 disaster here and in Cagayan de Oro City.

Workers at restaurants here report of customers first asking where fish being offered on the menu were caught before ordering these.

People still hesitate to eat fish caught in the region’s fishing grounds, said a waiter in one restaurant here.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) sought to dispel the rumor.

Visa Tan-Dimeren, the regional director of BFAR, said fish are safe to eat if thoroughly cleaned and their internal organs are removed. Fish, said the BFAR official, should also be cooked well.

Evie Lumingkit, the BFAR fish health officer, said BFAR could back up its assurance that fish from the region are safe to eat with results of a survey conducted in December that showed no ill effects of eating fish among consumers.

“There were no reported cases of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, dizziness and headache associated with food poisoning caused by landed fish catch from the coastal waters of this region,” said Lumingkit.

She said the survey was conducted in communities in the coastal areas of Misamis Oriental, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental and Camiguin after the Dec. 17 disaster that struck at the height of Tropical Storm “Sendong.”

Prices of fish have gone down as a result of a decline in consumption.

The effects of the fish scare are most felt in Misamis Occidental and Lanao del Norte where large numbers of coastal communities are dependent on fishing.

In Misamis Occidental, fish prices went down by as much as 50 percent. Market vendors in Ozamiz City said prices of small squid suffered the heaviest hit. It now sells P10 to P20 per kilogram and yet no one’s buying.

The sale of tilapia and milkfish grown in fish cages or ponds was spared. Their sale continues to be brisk.

Last week, officials of Misamis Occidental tried to convince people it was safe to eat fish from the province by eating fish in a public ceremony.