THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) assures the public that freshwater fishes 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.

In a study conducted by BFAR Fisheries Product Testing Laboratory chief Belinda Raymundo, the presence of heavy metals in fish and water samples collected in different stations along the lake revealed that these are all within the standard limits set by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO).

According to Raymundo, the study was conducted in response to the 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.

Results of the studies showed that mercury in the fish samples are way below the standard allowable limit of  0.05 parts per million (ppm) prescribed in the FAO Circular  825, 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 and 0.5 ppm.

Raymundo also explained the water samples taken from the surface, middle and bottom portions of the lake showed mercury content ranging from less than the detection limit of 0.01 ppm to 0.004 ppm, which does not exceed the limit  of  0.002 ppm set by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in its Administrative Order  34, series of 1990, stating the lake water could still be considered as suitable for the propagation and growth of fish and other aquatic resources.

“We conducted the fish and water testings in the lake last year in October and this year in the sampling sites, which includes Siniloan, Pakil, Paete and Los Baños in Laguna, and Binangonan, Cardona and Tanay in Rizal. 

The fish samples include tilapia, milkfish, dalag, ayungin, kanduli, bighead and common carpa caught from open water in fish pens and cages. We found that fish from Laguna de Bay is safe,” Raymundo added.

THE National Land Use Committee (NLUC) will review the proposal submitted by the Department of Agriculture (DA) to the Office of the President to declare all rice lands in the Philippines as protected areas.

INSTEAD of pursuing active procurement of rice imports, the Department of Agriculture (DA) must use the scarce financial resources of the government to build up sufficient rice supply from domestic production, a militant legislator said Thursday.

AN estimated P100 billion is required to make the Philippines one of the top rubber producers in the world, according to the Philippine Rubber Industries Association Inc. (PRIA).

THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) assures the public that freshwater fishes 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.

ENVIRONMENT Secretary Lito Atienza has appealed to local officials of Nueva Vizcaya, led by Gov. Luisa Lloren Cuaresma, to consider the potential loss to the province in terms of various economic benefits on their decision to stop an ongoing mining project in the town of Kasibu.