Fish ‘botcha’ sneaks into Dagupan
FISH that died from the fishkill in Anda and Bolinao are surreptitiously getting into Dagupan as several unscrupulous traders have been caught mixing these with newly harvested bangus.
Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, last week’s acting mayor, asked members of consignacion, the city’s seafood vendors, to help the government protect the reputation of Dagupan bangus by refusing to accept and sell fish obviously originating from areas devastated by fishkill.
At the same time, Fernandez warned vendors that selling the banned fish products constitutes an unfair trade practice punishable under the law.
Fernandez was also alarmed by reports that some members of the consignacion have resorted to applying red shoe coloring (dyobos) to the gills of banned fish to make them look fresh.
“If the traders will continue with their illegal practices, then we will prevent every truck bringing fish into Dagupan,” said Fernandez.
Fernandez led city officials in a surprise inspection of the Dagupan Fish Market on June 2 after receiving reports that some of the fish originating from Anda and Bolinao were surfacing in the city.
On June 1, some 600 kilos of rotten fish seized from the fish market were buried at the dumpsite in Bonuan.
Prior to this, at least 1.2 metric tons of fish from the fishkill areas were already unloaded in the fish market when it was detected. The owner of the shipment was promptly ordered to return the cargo to Anda.
Fernandez was joined in the inspection by Acting Vice Mayor Jesus Canto, City Administrator Vlad Mata, City Agriculturist Emma Molina and City Health Officer Leonard Carbonnel.
Molina has been ordered not to rely merely on the presentation of auxiliary invoices originating from the area where the fish came from but to make a thorough inspection of the cargo.—LM
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