BFAR tells public it is safe to eat fish

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources on Thursday rejected fears by the public that fish caught near the waters of Romblon could have fed on the flesh of cadavers from the casualties in the MV Princess of Stars. In an advisory sent to the media, BFAR director Malcolm Sarmiento said even “carnivorous fish species" have “food preferences" and “flesh from mammals are not used as baits". “Even hook and line fishermen would attest that carnivorous fish species has preferences over food…The eating of fish caught in the waters of Romblon, Masbate and Quezon is considered safe. The possibility of fish eating dead human flesh is nil," Sarmiento said. He explained that “theoretically" fish are classified according to their feeding behavior: surface feeders and bottom feeders. At the base of the food web, meanwhile, are the plankton feeders, which feed on planktons and are being preyed upon by carnivores. Herbivores are those which feed on plants, while omnivores feed on both plants and animals. Fish that are surface feeders include galunggong, tamban (planktonic); hasa-hasa, alumahan, samnaral and danggit (herbivore) Bottom feeders, meanwhile, include lapu-lapu (carnivore) and crabs and shrimps (carnivore and scavenger) “Since dead bodies of animals, including human cadavers, float in the water after some time, thus, the demersal or bottom feeders could not feed on these. Pelagic species such as the carnivorous shark and barracudas, on the other hand, prefer live prey," Sarmiento said. He added that used those “generally" used as baits in fishing carnivores were “shrimp, squid, chopped fish and polychaetes or marine worms". GMANews.TV