TACLOBAN CITY – Red tide phenomenon is still affecting 10 bays in Eastern Visayas this week based on examination of shellfish and seawater samples, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) reported on Thursday.

Of the 10, seven bodies of water are included in the national shellfish bulletin after meat samples collected were found to have toxic red tide beyond the regularity limit.

These are Matarinao Bay in General MacArthur, Quinapondan, Hernani, and Salcedo in Eastern Samar province; Ormoc Bay in Ormoc City, Albuera, and Merida in Leyte; Biliran Island waters in Biliran province; the waters in Leyte town, Leyte province; Daram Island in Samar; Zumarraga Island in Samar; and Irongirong Bay in Catbalogan City, Samar.

The public is strictly advised not to collect, sell, or eat any type of shellfish, including small shrimp, in these areas, the BFAR advisory said.

Fish, squid, shrimp, and crabs are safe for human consumption if they are fresh and washed thoroughly, and their internal organs, such as gills and intestines, are removed before cooking.

Seawater from the three other bays was found to have the presence of Pyrodinium bahamense, a dinoflagellate that produces red tide toxin.

These areas included in the latest local shellfish bulletin are Cancabato Bay in Tacloban City, the coastal waters of Guiuan in Eastern Samar, and the coastal waters of Calbayog City in Samar.

“To safeguard human lives, we are issuing this warning as precautionary advice to the public to refrain from gathering, selling, and eating all types of shellfish and Acetes sp. locally known as 'alamang' or 'hipon' from these bays,” BFAR said in its local shellfish bulletin.

The seawater condition prompted the fisheries bureau to issue a local shellfish advisory as a precautionary measure to avoid possible paralytic shellfish poisoning. (PNA)