THE Dagupan City government has stepped up its close watch on arrivals of fish shipments in city markets 24/7 in order to prevent the entry of milkfish that died from fish kill in other towns.

Mayor Belen Fernandez issued the order after the City Agriculture Office reported that another jeep load of milkfish totaling 1,860 kilograms believed to have come from Bolinao and Anda, was intercepted after unloading its cargo at the city’s Magsaysay Fish Market last Thursday.

The incident was recorded in the police blotter.

The cargo was being sold at P12 per kilo or a total of P22,320 for the whole shipment.

Last week, CAO also intercepted three containers of milkfish from the towns of Lingayen and Binmaley that also died from fish kill.

Meanwhile, the shellfish ban in Bolinao and Anda imposed by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) since the first week of April due to red tide has not been lifted.

Mayor Fernandez warned fish growers that the city will not only prevent their infected milkfish, including shellfishes coming from Bolinao and Anda, from being sold but will destroy them if caught being unloaded in the city market.

The CAO poured gasoline on the jeep load of milkfish that died from fish kill and sent back to its source to prevent the owner of the shipment from selling the fish anywhere after completing the required documentation.

Fernandez said all bangus and shellfish sold in the city’s markets are safe because no fish kill has occurred in the city and the coastal water and rivers of the city are free of red tide toxin. (Leonardo Micua)

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