SORSOGON CITY, May 26 (PNA) -- Apart from being an exciting attraction that placed a part of Sorsogon province on the map of leading tourist destinations, the whale sharks of Donsol town perhaps could take another heroic role by coming to the nearby Sorsogon Bay.
The bay, a major fishing ground that used to be home to the P100-million-a-year tahong (green mussel) industry is being plagued by red tide and Gil Ramos, head of the local office of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said Tuesday, it needs big fish like whale sharks to help eliminate the toxic organisms.
Big species of fish that feed on planktons such as "butandings" (local term for whale sharks) could do a clean-up job by sopping up the planktons at the bay that carry the red tide organisms, Ramos said.
He explained that although red tide organisms are deadly to humans, fish could absorb it and suffer no harmful effect. It would remain safe for human consumption provided its internal organs are removed before cooking.
Sorsogon Bay has been overfished and the resulting reduction in significant level on the volume of big species of fish in the area contributes largely to the lingering presence of the red tide phenomenon, he said.
"Perhaps we need the butandings (whale sharks) of Donsol for this clean-up job but the problem is how to lure these giant sea mammals to come and stay then wipe out the red tide given the difficult situation confronting the bay," Ramos said.
Sorsogon Bay is less than 10 kilometers away from the whale shark sanctuary of Donsol but it has a very narrow mouth that makes it almost enclosed making the entry of schools of big fish or butandings a rare occurrence.
On occasions that these sea creatures are able to get in as what happens from time to time based on some sightings reported by fishermen and coastal residents, the many fish catching structures scattered around the area, the blast fishing and massive pollution confronting the bay would drive them back into the open sea, Ramos said.
Sorsogon Bay, with an area of about 22,000 hectares, used to be one of the great prides of Bikol being blessed with mangrove areas with a variety of shrubs, vines and palms and sanctuary to fin fish, crabs and shellfish.
A study conducted in 2002 for the Coastal Resource Management Program (CRMP) for the Sorsogon Bay said that because of the bay's natural abundance, it has continuously attracted migration of fishers from other fishing villages. It has also attracted merchant capitalists who invest in aquaculture and export of shellfish.
Gathering of shellfish, particularly tahong and oyster (talaba), has been banned by the BFAR since early 2007 amid cases of paralytic food poisoning that since then have killed at least 13 persons and hospitalized over a hundred others in the locality.
Pollution is main culprit in the occurrence of red tide in Sorsogon Bay. According to Ramos, an underwater inspection recently conducted by the BFAR discovered a huge volume of garbage that has settled at its sea floor making it look like a vast century-old dumpsite for household, industrial and natural wastes. (PNA)