Cebu City Bantay Dagat official reminds public: Check fish before buying

Photo Courtesy of Bantay Dagat

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The increase in the demand for seafoods during the Holy Week may result to the entry of “unsafe” marine products in the markets here.

Ariel Yburan, head of the Cebu City Bantay Dagat Commission, is asking market goers to make sure that they do not buy and consume especially fish that were caught from dynamite fishing.

Yburan is asking buyers to properly examine the fish that they plan to buy.

Fishes that were caught from dynamite fishing normally have red eyes and soft stomachs.

“Kon puwa na gani kaayo ang mata, bantayi na. Hikapa ang tiyan, kung mura ganig lugaw nya mogawas ang dugo sa hasang, aw pinutukan na,” said Yburan.

(Check if the fish has read eyes.  Also check the stomach and if it is soft and blood would come out of the gills that is an indication that it came from dynamite fishing.)

He said that it is also important to check on the entrails.

The presence of damaged entrails is another sign of dynamite fishing.

Consumers who see these signs are advised to report the matter to the Bantay Dagat Commission or the Market Operations Division (MOD) for verification and action.

“Kami man gud kung magcheck mi sa mga truck, random among pagtan-aw. Kung naa mi makit-an, paablihan namo tanan. Kung wala, dili ra pud. Lima ra gyod na ka random among tan-awon,” said Yburan.

(We only look at the cargo when we do random checks of items that are loaded on the [delivery] truck.  If we see something is wrong with the shipment, that is the time that we check the entire thing.  But if there is none, then we don’t do anything.  We just do five random inspections.)

Yburan is grateful that local distributors have so far been very careful with their deliveries to Cebu City markets.

Quoting the outcome of their intelligence gathering, Yburan said most of the marine products caught from dynamite fishing are being sent to localities outside of Cebu province.

Still, Yburan said that Bantay Dagat will not let their guards down especially during the Holy Week when the demand for seafoods is high.

He is also hopeful that both the buyers and market vendors will cooperate in their campaign against the distribution and sales of fish that were caught from dynamite fishing. / dcb