Seafood from all regions safe to eat amid the Bataan oil spill – BFAR

Fish and shellfish from all regions are now safe to eat, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said on Tuesday.��

“Based on our latest sensory evaluation, fish and shellfish from all regions – that includes Region 3, 4A, (National Capital Region) are already safe for human consumption,” the BFAR Assistant Director Angel B. Encarnacion said during the .��

Currently, Bataan faces three oil spills in the province – MKTR Terranova, MTKR Jason Bradley, and MV Mirola 1.��

Market-goers avoided buying fish because of the multiple oil vessel incidents, Enrique, a shrimp vendor at the Balanga Public Market, said.��

“Matumal kasi nag-aalala rin yung mga tao, [People refuse to buy because they are worried],” he added. ��

The fish tasted different, and residents are struggling to identify if it’s still safe to eat, according to Jerald Lacson, a resident of Balanga, Bataan.��

Mr. Lacson added that he once experienced cooking a fish that had an off taste.��

“Nakabili po kami ng isda na nilalako, pagkaluto po may lasang langis na, [The fish that we bought from a local vendor tasted like oil],”�� he said.

According to Rafael Dominico, a board member of the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Mangingisda sa Lamao (PINSAMALA), fish are scarce in the area because they avoid the oil-contaminated water.��

“Yung isda ngayon talagang wala ng mahuli kaya minsan kami ay dumadayo pa para makahuli lamang nang maganda, [Fish became elusive in the area. We had to travel to other places to catch better fish],” Mr. Dominco said.��

From P200 to P180, the fish prices decreased to P80 to P50, Mr. Dominico told ����ý in an interview on Thursday.��

“Despite lowering the prices to P80, we still can’t sell it sometimes,” he said in Filipino.��

Corresponding to the BFAR’s announcement, fisherfolks from Limay, Bataan, attested that their fish are edible.��

“Ligtas naman siya… Wala naman kaming ibang kakainin kung ‘di yung isdang nahuhuli namin, [It is safe to eat… We cannot afford to eat anything else aside from the fishes we caught],” PINSAMALA President Efren Dominico said. – Almira Louise S. Martinez