A Bizarre Incident Surfaced in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, and, Ozamis City.

On February 21, 2021, millions of sardines, or locally called “tamban” have been sighted along the shores near Tagoloan River. Just exactly the time when typhoon Auring has prevented fishermen from going to sea, such rare sight surprised the locals. Accordingly, these fishes were carried by the strong current which may be possible because of strong winds carried by the said typhoon. However, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) prohibits the public from harvesting, collecting, selling, and eating the fish found in the area.

Here are some comments from netizens regarding the incident in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.

Meanwhile, on the same day, coastal waters of Brgy. San Roque and Brgy. Baybay Triunfo in Ozamiz City strangely turned red. Residents were also alarmed by the sudden incident which eventually reached the (BFAR) authorities. Apparently, the result of laboratory analysis taken from red water samples suggested that it was primarily caused by Algal Bloom, a water reaction caused by excess nutrients particularly phosphate that may have been present in the coastal area.

Here are the reactions from netizens concerning the incident in Ozamis City.

As for the commenters, most of them comment just for fun. Most people made jokes out of the incidents and some comments were quite off the topic. It's always been a Filipino thing to make jokes regardless of which scenario. It may have been part of the Filipino culture however it's quite disturbing that instead of doing a bit of research to educate oneself, creating hilarious comments became the utmost priority. Literacy should always be of paramount significance to prevent further false information and misinformation. As for the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), it is important to provide information that is clear yet comprehensible by the locals. It's better if they communicate both in English and in local dialect whether on their sites or live press conferences as not everyone in the community can grasp information written and spoken in English.