The Philippine Scientist 31(1994):79 .. 87 A RED TIDE MANAGEMENT SCHEME IN THE PHILIPPINES AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL ·Filipina B. Sotto, 1 Jason· Young, 1 and Jose Rodriguez 2 ABSTRACT In November 1992, a dinoflagellate bloom of Pyrodinium ba- /10111ense var. compressum occurred in Samar and Leyte, eastern Philip- pines. Several incidents of seafood poisoning were reported. Led by the Department of Health, various local government agencies formed Red Tide Task Force with responsibilities and decision-making capabilities quasi-independently from the sluggish National Red Tide Committee. Quick and timely action prevented any undue loss of life, and the task force gained credibility with the public. Training on sampling, identifi- cation and counting of P. bahamense cells was provided by the Marine Biology Section of the University of San Carlos. This report shows that a localized response team, separate from the National Committee, is more practical for archipelagic countries like the Philippines. INTRODUCTION After the first recorded toxic red tide outbreak in 1983, Maqueda Bay, western Samar, Philippines~ a red tide management scheme for the entire country· (Fig. 1) was fonned and implemented (Corrales & Gomez, 1989). Subsequent red tide outbreaks from 1987 to 1992 have shown, howeve'r, that such a scheme was slow in responding to crisis because of the lack of coordination among agencies and the inadequate response of local government units. These problems occurred due to centralized plan- ning, the failure to consider the large area covered, and the archipelagic 1 Marine Biology Section, University of San Carlos, 6000 Cebu City, Philip- pines. 2 Director, Department of Health-VII, 6000 Cebu City, Philippines.