MANILA, Philippines - The coastal waters of Wawa, Bani in Pangasinan are now free of red tide toxins while Bolinao, Anda, and Alaminos in Pangasinan remain under alert for red tide, an advisory from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said Sunday.
The BFAR advisory dated February 29 was sent to the Department of Health (DOH) announcing that shellfishes where red tide toxins were found are unsafe for human consumption.
'All types of shellfish and Acetes sp. or alamang gathered from the areas shown are not safe for human consumption,'' BFAR said.
Also in the list are coastal waters at Dumanquillas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur; Murcielagos Bay in Zamboanga del Norte and Misamis Occidental; Masinloc Bay in Zambales, Bataan Coastal waters (Mariveles, Limay, Orion, Pilar, Balanga, Orani, Abucay and Samal) and Matarinao bay in Eastern Samar.
''Fish, squids, shrimps and crabs are safe for human consumption provided they are fresh and washed thoroughly and internal organs such as gills and intestines are removed before cooking,'' the advisory dated February 23, 2012 said.
The DOH said that red tide poisoning is characterized by the following: headache, facial numbness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, breathing difficulty, abdominal cramps, and weakness or paralysis of one or more extremities.
''Ingesting contaminated shellfish leads to vomiting and abdominal pain, sometimes with loose bowel movement. This should be accompanied by two sensory and motor abnormalities,'' DOH Assistant Secretary Dr. Eric Tayag earlier said.
