After more than five years, gathering, selling and transporting of shellfish from Sorsogon Bay and the municipal waters of Mandaon and Milagros, both in Masbate, have been prohibited by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR). The resurgence of the red tide-causing planktons could have been triggered by typhoons that hit Bicol in the past few weeks, according to Nonie Enolva, spokesperson for the BFAR-Bicol region. Enolva said the huge waves and flashfloods spawned by the typhoons disturbed and mobilized the sea bed as well as produced a mixture of waste and other contaminants.

Dematera, C. (2020, December 8). Red tide ban up in 2 Bicol provinces. The Philippine Star, p. 14.