3 red tide alerts in the Philippines for 2012

As of October 16, 2012, there were 3 red tide alerts in the Philippines (source: Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Red tide alert up

Friday, July 13th, 2012
By Jhunnex Napallacan

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/228553/red-tide-alert-up

BOHOL—The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources has raised a red tide alert in parts of Tagbilaran City and banned shellfish gathering and sale.

At least three coastal villages are covered by the ban—Poblacion 1, Poblacion 2 and Cogon. The ban is also in effect in parts of Barangays Mansasa and Booy. Jhunnex Napallacan, Inquirer Visayas


Red tide alert up in Bohol
Wednesday, July 11th, 2012
By Jhunnex Napallacan

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/227287/red-tide-alert-up-in-bohol

CEBU CITY, Philippines—The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources office in Bohol has raised a red tide alert in the capital city of Tagbilaran.

Residents are warned against the gathering and eating shellfish from a section of Maribujoc Bay, particularly the waters between Tagbilaran City and the town of Dauis.

Cresencio Pahamutang, BFAR provincial officer based in Tagbilaran, said shellfish gathered along Tagbilaran-Dauis channel, which separates the island of Panglao from the Bohol main island, was not safe to eat due to the high level of the red tide toxin.

At least three barangays were affected by red tide. These were Poblacion 1, Poblacion 2, Cogon, a portion of Mansasa and part of Booy, all located along the Tagbilaran-Dauis channel.

Pahamutang all the barangay captains and councilors in these villages were asked to disseminate the information to their constituents.

Pahamutang said fish caught in the area may be eaten provided they were prepared and cleaned properly and their gills and intestines taken out.

The red tide alarm started around three weeks ago when a foreigner staying at Matig-a Lodge on Burgos Street in Tagbilaran City noticed the red coloration of the sea below the lodge.

According to Pahamutang, the management of the lodge reported the water discoloration to the BFAR, which immediately sent personnel to take water samples from at least seven places in the area, he said.

The tests were positive for red tide. A second sampling last week showed lower toxin levels but they were still higher than normal, Pahamutang said.

The BFAR will another water sampling on Thursday to determine if the situation has returned to normal and would warrant a lifting of the public warning.

Pahamutang said he sent a kilogram of mussels gathered from the affected areas to the BFAR laboratory in Manila but the samples were found negative for red tide. Still, Pahamutang said, the BFAR could not lift the warning based on that alone.

He noted that no one was reported to have been taken ill, which could be due to the early detection of the red tide in the area.

Red tide alert up in Pangasinan
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012
By Jocelyn R. Uy


http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/137485/red-tide-alert-up-in-pangasinan

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Health (DoH) on Tuesday advised the public to avoid eating shellfish harvested from Wawa River in Pangasinan following an advisory on the presence of red tide toxin by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

In its latest bulletin, the BFAR said toxins were found in Wawa River in Bani town, Pangasinan, while the waters of six provinces continued to be positive for paralytic shellfish poison “that is beyond the regulatory limit.”

Identified as positive for red tide were Dumanquillas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur; Murcielagos Bay in Zamboanga del Norte and Misamis Occidental; Masinloc Bay in Zambales; and Matarinao Bay in Eastern Samar.

Shellfish harvested from Bataan coastal waters—Mariveles, Limay, Orion, Pilar, Balanga, Orani, Abucal and Samal—are also not fit for consumption, according to the BFAR bulletin.

But fish, squid, shrimp and crab from all these areas are safe for human consumption but they should be fresh, thoroughly washed and its internal organs removed before cooking, added the advisory.

According to the DoH, symptoms of red tide poisoning include dizziness, headache, facial numbness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and paralysis, breathing difficulty, which could lead to death

Featured website about Red Tide: Fish Kill

Web Based Resource Information for Fishkill events in the Philippines

A massive fish kill of bangus occurred in Bolinao, Pangasinan on February 1, 2002 involving tons of fish that were valued at P400 million pesos. Investigations conducted by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Region I (BFAR) office indicated that the fish kill was a result of reduced dissolved oxygen in the water. The University of the the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP MSI) observed the proliferation of the phytoplankton, Prorocentrum minimum that is also associated with some fish kills. A week after this event occurred, the major proponent put up a website using information and photos gathered by the MSI (UP MSI) researchers and also compiled from newspaper reports. The website displayed photos of floating dead fish in cages, beach areas covered with beds of dead milkfish, affected reef fish, land and aerial photos of the fish kill site, the clean-up that was organized by the community later and links to other daily newspaper that reported the fish kill event.

A search on the Internet showed that there were two foreign-based websites that are seriously monitoring fish kill incidents in their national waters. These are the Fish Kill Database in Australia that is being maintained by New South Wales Agriculture with URL at http://www.agric.nsw.gov/ and the North Carolina State University’s Center for Applied Aquatic Ecology monitors fish kill events in fresh- and estuarine waters in the United States. The URL is http://www.pfiesteria.org/. At present, such kind of web-base resource information for fish kill incidents do not exist in the country.

This site (http://fishkillevents.serveftp.org) initially compiled information during the 2002 fish kill in Bolinao, Pangasinan, Philippines and then proceeded with the documentation of subsequent fish kill incidents in the country. Fish kill incidents are serious issues especially where human mortalities and human impacts are involved.

A repository of historical information on fish kills incidents such as this website is a means to help policymakers, the scientific community, students and the general public to make informed decisions and to reduce the possibility of future fish kills.

Benny T. Campos and Dosette R. PanteWeb Administrators of
http://fishkillevents.msi.upd.edu.ph/mos/Frontpage/

Davao, Red Tide Ban, 2006, PIA

PIA Press Release2006/06/10

Red tide ban still up
Davao City (10 June) -- The latest laboratory analysis of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and Local Government Units (LGU's) showed that the following areas are still positive for Red Tide Toxin (PSP Toxins) and Toxic Red Tide organisms, thus are still under Shellfish Ban:
Coastal waters of Dumaguillas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur, Balite Bay in Mati, Davao Oriental, and Bislig Bay in Bislig City, Surigao del Sur is also positive for red tide toxin.
Madilyn T. Navarce, Regional Fish Health Officer bared that the red tide organism is dormant in the coastal waters, however due to pollution, siltation and other form of water disturbances can increase its level, Navarce said. The Municipality of Mati, Davao Oriental, had already implemented the Shellfish Ban since year 2000 particularly Balite Bay in Mati, Davao Oriental. The ordinance prohibits the harvesting of bivalves shells (Tahong) in their area.
Navarce said that the bivalve products and "tahong" sold in the market in Davao City are coming from the provinces, which are not affected by the red tide.
The Philippines has adopted a red tide standard to a maximum tolerable level of 40 micro gram/100 grams of shell-meat. This is far below from the World Health Organization standard that is set to a maximum tolerable level of 80 micro gram/100 gram of shell meat.
Ms. Navarce further said the standard is at the safest level, because there are cases found and documented by BFAR that above 40 micro grams/100 grams of shell meat might inflict Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning to human being.
She also added that BFAR is strictly monitoring the transport of shell-meat entering Davao City. It requires the issuance of the health certificate from its origin before it can be transported to any place. (PIA/AD Cahilog)

http://www.pia.gov.ph/default.asp?m=12&fi=p060610.htm&no=4#TOP

Mga kaalaman tungkol sa red tide

http://www.gmanews.tv/htmfiles/redtide.htm

Ano ang red tide?

Ang red tide ay isang uri ng pamumula o pagkukulay kalawang ng tubig dagat sanhi ng mabilis na pagdami ng mga organismong tinatawag na dinoflagellates.

Ang red tide ay isang pangyayaring dulot ng pagbabago sa kundisyon ng tubig-dagat. Hindi sa lahat ng panahon na ang red tide ay may pamumula sa tubig-dagat. Ito ay sa kadahilanang ang mga organismo ay hindi namamalagi sa kanilang kinalalagyan kundi kumikilos ng pataas o pababa sa “water column.” Ito ay nakikita kapag ang kaniyang dami ay umaabot na sa 10,000 cells/liter ng tubig-dagat o higit pa.

SOURCES:
Department of Agriculture
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
National Red Tide Task Force
Inter-Agency Committee on Environmental Health
Department oh Health

http://www.gmanews.tv/htmfiles/redtide.htm

Definition of Red Tide from Wikipedia

"Red tide" is a common name for a phenomenon known as an algal bloom, an event in which estuarine, marine, or fresh water algae accumulate rapidly in the water column, or "bloom". These algae, more specifically phytoplankton, are microscopic, single-celled protists, plant-like organisms that can form dense, visible patches near the water's surface. Certain species of phytoplankton contain photosynthetic pigments that vary in colour from green to brown to red, and when the algae are present in high concentrations, the water appears to be discoloured or murky, varying in colour from purple to almost pink, normally being red or green. Not all algal blooms are dense enough to cause water discolouration, and not all discoloured waters associated with algal blooms are red. Additionally, red tides are not typically associated with tidal movement of water, hence the preference among scientists to use the term algal bloom.

Some red tides are associated with the production of natural toxins, depletion of dissolved oxygen or other harmful impacts, and are generally described as harmful algal blooms. The most conspicuous effects of red tides are the associated wildlife mortalities among marine and coastal species of fish, birds, marine mammals and other organisms. In the case of Florida red tides, these mortalities are caused by exposure to a potent neurotoxin called brevetoxin which is produced naturally by the marine algae Karenia brevis.


Kindly go to wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_tide