Public assured on safety of freshwater fish

The Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has assured the public that freshwater fish such as dalag, bangus, tilapia, ayungin, big-head and common carp caught or farmed in the waters of Laguna de Bay are safe for human consumption.

BFAR said tests for heavy metals in fish and water samples collected in different stations along the lake showed that the levels are all within the standard limits set by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

The study was conducted in response to concerns raised by some sectors on the possible presence of high levels of heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium in fish due to the alleged worsening condition of the lake.

Test results showed that mercury in the fish samples are way below the standard allowable limit of 0.5 parts per million (ppm) prescribed in the FAO Circular 825 or Food Regulations Standard Applied to Fish.

Laboratory tests showed that the amount of mercury in the 28 fish samples taken ranged only from 0.00015 ppm to 0.0011 ppm.

Likewise, the levels of lead and cadmium are also below the tolerable limits of 0.3 ppm (Codex Alimentarius Commission) and 0.5 ppm (FA0 Circular 210), respectively.

On the other hand, water samples taken from the surface, middle and bottom portions of the lake showed mercury content ranging from less than the detection limit of up to 0.0004 ppm which do not exceed the limit of 0.002 ppm set by the DENR.

Based on the findings of the BFAR laboratory, the lake’s water could still be considered as suitable for the propagation and growth of fish and other aquatic products.

Water and fish testings in the lake were conducted by the BFAR last October 2007 and in January and February this year.

Sampling sites include Siniloan, Pakil, Paete and Los Baños towns in Laguna and Binangonan, Cardona and Tanay in Rizal.

The fish samples include tilapia, milkfish, dalag, ayungin, kanduli, bighead and common carp caught from open water and in fish pens and cages in Laguna de Bay.

The collections and testings were undertaken by a BFAR team from Region 4A and the central office led by BFAR Fisheries Product Testing Laboratory chief Belinda Raymundo.

Laguna de Bay is the largest freshwater lake in the Philippines with a total surface area of 900 square kilometers.

The lake’s most dominant use is fisheries, yielding from 37,000 to 47,000 metric tons of fish from 1997 to 2000 from fishpens and open fisheries.