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BFAR: Tilapia from San Roque Dam reservoir fails toxicity test

By Hilda Austria

October 7, 2022, 6:23 pm

SAN MANUEL, Pangasinan – The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Ilocos regional office prohibits the gathering, harvesting, selling, and eating of tilapia from the San Roque Dam’s reservoir due to the high presence of arsenic in the fish.

San Roque Power Corporation (SRPC) vice president for corporate social responsibility Tommy Valdez said the samples taken from the reservoir had never passed the standard of BFAR since 2019.

“BFAR’s standard for arsenic is two micrograms per kilogram (mg/km), and the samples taken from the reservoir is between 4.9 mg/km to 8.3 mg/km,” he said in a statement on Friday.

The test conducted on June 30 revealed that the arsenic level in small tilapia from the reservoir was at 8.3 mg/kg; medium tilapia at 6.2 mg/kilogram; and large tilapia at 4.9 mg/kilogram.

SRPC commissioned the fish tissue toxicity analyses on samples taken from the dam from March to June this year.

“We have been closely monitoring this with BFAR, and since arsenic is occurring at high levels being persistent, the agency deemed it necessary to ban the gathering, harvesting, selling and eating of tilapia from the water reservoir,” Valdez said.

Arsenic poisoning affects the skin, liver, lungs and kidneys.

In the final stage, symptoms include seizures and shock that could lead to a coma or death. (PNA)

 

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