By Alexander Villafania
DAGUPAN CITY, METRO MANILA – Officials from Dagupan City’s agriculture and health offices have revealed attempts by unscrupulous vendors to smuggle and sell milkfish from towns recently affected by the massive fish kill.
The “double-dead” milkfish or bangus were being passed off as fresh by having their gills colored with a red pigment locally known as jobos.
The report was made by Dagupan City Agriculturist Emma Molina, who monitored last June 1 the Magsaysay Fish Market in Dagupan City where most of the bangus was being sold.
The monitoring came after a massive fish kill that affected the towns of Anda and Bolinao, two of the largest producers of bangus in Pangasinan.
There were also earlier reports that fish farmers were attempting to sell the double dead fish immediately after the massive fish kill, in an effort to recoup their losses. Dagupan City officials estimate that initial losses from the May 31 fish kill was about P40.7 million, which could be higher as more towns report of fish kills.
Molina stated that attempts were made to smuggle the double dead fish in Dagupan City, then sent out to other places. Some of the double-dead fish may have already been sent to other places and as such, more intense monitoring by other local government units must be done to prevent the illegal catch from being sold and consumed.
Dagupan City Health Officer Dr. Leonard Carbonell said in a statement that consumers are warned from buying double-dead bangus by looking at its gills and checking its smell. Consuming double-dead fish could cause food poisoning.
The fish kill in Pangasinan immediately followed a similar event in Talisay, Batangas where 800 tons of various fish were lost.
Last April, Dagupan City held a month-long celebration of its Bangus Festival, which honored their most popular product. Several coastal towns in Pangasinan also celebrated recently the Pista’y Dayat, which also honored the fishing industry in the province.
