BFAR executive tells fishermen it’s safe to fish in Talisay waters

WATCH: PCG conducts site inspection of waters in Barangay Cansojong, Talisay City where M/V Fortuner sank.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR-7) announced it is safe to fish at Talisay City waters.

A lot of fishermen in the area expressed their worries that the oil coming from the cargo vessel M/V Fortuner that sank in the area last Sunday would affect their livelihood.

Allan Poquita, the regional director of BFAR-7, however, assured the oil from the vessel was immediately contained and has not contaminated the waters.

“To the consuming public, what happened now is not a problem since no oil has reached the shorelines because it was immediately contained. BFAR-7 will continue to monitor the area,” Poquita told reporters.

M/V Fortuner was loaded with iron and metal billets. The cargo vessel had 4,000 of special fuel, a combination of bunker and diesel.

A black marker was placed to identify the sunken site. (CDN PHOTO/ MICHELLE JOY PADAYHAG)

Fishermen in Talisay City were worried after they learned that there were oil sheen spotted last Sunday at the sunken site of M/V Fortuner.

Cebu Daily News visited the site on Tuesday morning and saw blotch of oil sheen in the area but there was no odor coming from the oil.

Ryan Cuna, seman first of Marine Environment Protection Unit (MEPU) of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), said they could not even say that all the sheen are coming from ill-fated M/V Fortuner since the area is also an anchorage area for vessels.