‘Red tide’ expected to last until June: Yahya

KOTA KINABALU: Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry, Datuk Seri Yahya Hussin said the Red Sea Water phenomena that occur in the state since November last year and expected to last until June this year.
Hence, he said, people are told not to consume all types of shelled marine life at the moment.
“However, all types of fish, shrimp and crabs are safe to eat,” he said when contacted here, yesterday.
Yahya said the red sea phenomenon otherwise known as’ red tide ‘is happening on the west coast of Sabah due to the presence of a single-celled organism called a dinoflagellate phytoplankton’ in the sea water.
The phenomenon which hit the country two months ago sparked an uproar when two young victims aged 14 and nine years died from eating shellfish near the waters off Sepanggar.
Therefore, the public is not only asked to avoid eating shellfish but are forbidden to sell it to the public.
“All kinds of seashell, snails and clams are not safe to be eaten and the situation is expected to last and the toxic level content is expected to rise,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said his ministry will continue to monitor the development of this phenomenon and will inform the public on an ongoing basis.
He said that among the methods used at this time to inform the public which includes posters and Short Messaging Service (SMS).
In the meantime, the state Fisheries Department director, Rainer Galid said the areas affected by this phenomenon is the waters off Kota Kinabalu till Papar.
“We will continue to be vigilant in this area and will inform the public from time to tim,” he said.