Keep fishing ban in parts of Or. Mindoro—BFAR

By Rio N. Araja

THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has recommended keeping the fishing ban in at least five towns and one city in Oriental Mindoro province badly affected by the oil seepage from a sunken tanker.

The BFAR, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA), cited analyses and onsite monitoring of the oil slick’s negative impact on marine lives in the affected areas.

The BFAR recommended keeping the fishing ban in Calapan City and the municipalities of Naujan, Pola, Pinamalayan, Gloria, and Bansud due to the risk as of contamination traces of the industrial fuel were still present in these areas

The BFAR has been relentlessly monitoring the situation in Oriental Mindoro and nearby islands following the sinking last February 28 of the MT Princess Empress that dumped an estimated 800,000 liters of industrial fuel in the island’s coastal waters.

Fish samples were regularly collected and tested for presence of oil and grease and harmful chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) to determine if fish and other marine lives were safe for human consumption.. Traces of oil were observed during onsite monitoring of sea surface in the six areas.

Meanwhile, water samples collected last April 24 showed that oil and grease remained in affected areas, but these were reportedly within the allowable standard set by the Department of Environment and Natural Re -