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Fish may take bite of human flesh, but not dead ones

Carnivorous fish may take a bite of human flesh, but they, generally, eat their own kind or marine plants that cannot be seen by the naked eye.

Malcolm Sarmiento, director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in the Visayas, made this clarification to ease down the "fish scare" in the Visayas that has started affecting vendors in Metro Manila.

"Fish generally eat phytoplankton...People should not be scared of eating fish. Fish will grow whether or not a ship sinks near their habitat," Sarmiento told radio dzMM.

Online encyclopedia Wikipedia described phytoplankton as microscopic plants that satisfy all kinds of fish in the ocean. These microscopic plants can be seen on the surface as a green discoloration of the water because of the presence of chlorophyll within their cells.

Sarmiento also said that fish, as part of the food chain, eat their own kind.

"The others eat their own kind. This is part of the food chain," he said.

Some carnivorous fish, including barracudas and sharks, may at times take a bite of human flesh. They, however, do not eat flash from dead bodies.

Sarmiento said big, carnivorous fish usually do not prefer human flesh because they would rather eat smaller, swimming creatures.

The BFAR last week issued a statement assuring the public that fish from Romblon and nearby provinces are safe to eat following the capsizing of the M/V Princess of the Stars off San Fernando town.

Sarmiento said to be sure, consumers should thoroughly clean the fish before cooking them.

"It's important to gut the fish, remove the innards and cook it thoroughly," he said.

The fish scare came after the sinking of the Sulpicio Lines-owned passenger vessel on June 21during the onslaught of typhoon Frank .

Dozens of bloated bodies of the passengers have been spotted inside the sunken ship. Several bodies have been recovered from the ship while other were carried by the tide toward islands hundreds of kilometers away.

On Friday, officials stopped the retrieval of the bodies after discovering that the ill-fated ferry has a 10-metric ton load of endosulfan, a highly toxic chemical that poses a danger to marine and human life.

Sarmiento said so far, fishes living around the sunken ship have not been affected by the toxic chemical. He said several water samples taken from inside the sunken ship have turned out negative for endosulfan.

He said the BFAR will examine fish caught around the sunken ship to be certain that the endosulfan has not affected the marine life in Romblon.