CEBU CITY, Philippines - High levels of harmful algae in sea urchins off the coast of Medellin town, northern Cebu, resulted in the death of a three-year-old child last week.This prompted the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) of the Department of Agriculture in Central Visayas to advise the public against eating sea urchins, as well as banning the collection and sale of the sea creatures, from three of the town's coastal barangays (villages) citing the “red tide” phenomenon. The ban will be effective “until such time that the toxicity level has gone down below the regulatory level,” said the advisory issued by BFAR national regional director Malcolm Sarmiento Jr. “Paralytic shellfish poisoning toxin levels in sea urchin samples collected from the area is 5,788 micrograms (µg) saxitoxin equivalent (STX eq) per 100 grams (g) of sea urchin gonads,” the advisory said. According to Dr. Teresita Lazarte, head of BFAR-7's fisheries laboratory, the safe levels for algal bloom or red tide is 40 µg STX eq per 100 g. Saxitoxin is a neuropoison found in some marine algae. Algal bloom, commonly known as red tide, is a phenomenon when marine algae accumulates or blooms rapidly in a coastal area. Since a number of algae species contain saxitoxin, algal bloom may be harmful to human life. The algae involved may sometimes be a striking red color, but it is just as often not the case. Sarmiento’s advisory said this recent case of algal bloom and the resulting ban cover all species of sea urchins from Medellin. Fish harvested from the seas off Medellin should be safe, he said, provided these are fresh and washed thoroughly, with internal organs removed before these are cooked.
Lazarte said the child who died on March 10 reported feeling dizzy and started vomiting two hours after eating “con-con,” a species of sea urchin. He died on the way to the hospital. Also, the BFAR fisheries technician of Medellin reported that two weeks before the child’s death, one person was hospitalized in Cebu City after eating con-con consumed in Medellin, Lazarte said, while others also reported feeling ill, but were otherwise unharmed, after eating con-con from the town.
BFAR-7 recently took con-con samples from Medellin, which confirmed the harmful algal bloom. Lazarte said BFRA-7 was studying the spread of the algal bloom, since this may have been carried towards barangays Pulangbato and Nailon in Bogo City, which shares a bay with Medellin. Bogo City residents are advised to avoid consuming sea urchins and seashells from these barangays. Lazarte said algal bloom may take months to dissipate. | 
