Dagupan bans bangus from Bolinao, Anda
FISH KILL ALERT
SEVEN truckloads of milkfish that died from the fishkill in Bolinao and Anda, Pangasinan were intercepted and denied entry into the Dagupan Fish Market in the early morning of April 27, after a round-the-clock alert was raised by the City Agriculture Office.
City Agriculture Officer Emma Molina said the trucks were turned back after City Health Officer Leonard Carbonell determined that the bangus cargo was no longer safe for human consumption.
“We seized these milkfish and turned them over to the Waste Management Division for proper disposal in our city’s dumpsite” she said.
Because of the incident, Molina has mobilized members of the Task Force Bantay Ilog and fish wardens to maintain 24/7 vigilance in all the approaches to Dagupan City to prevent the entry of milkfish that died from the fishkill.
She said she will avoid a repeat of the incident that affected Dagupan bangus in 2011 when bangus hauled from a fish kill in western Pangasinan were mixed with the local produce which resulted in refusal of consumers of buy bangus.
Consequently, the price of bangus dipped to as low as P60 per kilo. This adversely affected even the Dagupan bangus raisers.
It took six months for the public to regain its confidence in eating bangus again, Molina said. She recalled having to stage a bangus boodle fight in front of city hall to show to the public that eating bangus was safe.
Molina said only Dagupan Bangus and a few milkfish from western Pangasinan whose shipments are covered by auxiliary invoices are being sold in the Dagupan fish market today.
The price of the Dagupan Bangus remains P105 – P110 per kilo while those from western Pangasinan, sell at P98 to P105 per killo. (Leonardo Micua)
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