Monday, April 03, 2006

Trapped dolphin become feast for villagers

Villagers in Barangay Tinopan, Rapu-Rapu, Albay feasted on the meat of a 70-kilogram dolphin which died after it was entrapped on Friday morning in a fishnet of Juan Demasito Araojo, a resident of Barangay Binosawan, same town.

Binosawan village chief Reynold Asuncion confirmed the report in a cell phone interview.
Asuncion said they buried what was left of the sea mammal and took a sample for examination by government authorities.

He said nothing happened to those who had eaten the meat of the dolphin.

Earlier on Feb. 9, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) issued its fifth study showing that fish from the Sorsogon coastal areas facing Rapu-Rapu Island is safe to eat, contrary to claims.

Officials of the Lafayette Philippines Inc., whose mining operations in Rapu-Rapu town had been alleged to have contaminated the waters of the island-municipality and some parts of Sorsogon, said BFAR’s continuing tests consistently showed that

there was no mercury contamination as claimed by its critics.

These groups’ claims had scared off people from buying fish, destroying the livelihood of thousands of Sorsogon fishermen in the process.

Quick "Facts about Dolphins"