Copyright 1998 South China Morning Post Ltd.
South China Morning Post
April 14, 1998
SECTION: News; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 544 words
HEADLINE: Fish fiasco fears amid uncertainty Officials in a muddle
over safety
BYLINE: AUDREY PARWANI, ALISON SMITH and NAOMI LEE
BODY:
Conflicting advice on whether to eat fish killed by toxic
algae has sparked fears that the red tide crisis might be mishandled
in the same way as the initial stages of the bird flu outbreak.
Officials at the Department of Health called for the dead
fish to be destroyed while Agriculture and Fisheries colleagues
insisted they were safe to eat.
The red tide continued to lay waste to fish stocks and five
beaches were closed to swimmers yesterday as fears emerged it
could take days or weeks to remove the rotting carcasses from
the sea.
"Our concern is that these fish have to be collected
instead of being sold at markets," a Health Department spokesman
said yesterday.
She said people should not eat gills or intestines of fish
and should be especially wary of fish being sold cheaply at markets.
The head and gills are considered a delicacy.
She said there was no need for a general health alert, which
would be an "over -reaction".
"If people get sick from eating toxins we will give our
advice (to the contrary)," she said. Agriculture and Fisheries
Department acting assistant director Joseph Sham Chun-hung cited
the same Department of Health tests when he said: "(The
fish) are fit for human consumption. The only concern is the dead
fish have to be frozen quickly, otherwise they will rot. As to
the risk to swimmers, I don't know."
Christine Loh Kung-wai, a Legco candidate on Hong Kong Island,
accused the Government of complacency and said it was essential
the dead fish should not be eaten.
"We've heard this before. First, they're saying let's
eat chicken. And then they say let's not eat chicken," she
said, referring to the bird flu crisis at the end of last year
when contradictory advice was given before the Government slaughtered
thousands of birds.
Ms Loh was also worried about the disposal of the fish which
continued yesterday with Fisheries workers going to farms to collect
dead ones.
About 1,500 tonnes of fish - half the annual stock the Government
says is worth $ 80 million - has been killed so far and though
only 20 tonnes was collected on Sunday, Mr Sham said the collection
of all the dead fish would only take two days.
It has affected more than 22 out of 26 fish farms.
Ms Loh said the Government action had been slow.
"The Government should at this stage be able to say what
action they are taking and how they are disposing of the dead
fish.
"This is what surprises me. They knew about dead fish
and fish dying back in March, when they should have done something.
And now you have to get rid of the dead fish fairly soon. They
should have thought of ways of disposal."
Dr John Tse Wing-ling, of the Democratic Party, said he feared
a repeat of the bird flu slaughter where chickens were dumped
in landfill sites.
"I don't think they have any option but to do what they
did with the chickens - to dump them in the tips. I think the
Government is at a loss," he said.
Fish traders upped their estimated losses to $ 120 million
yesterday. A representative, Wong Yung-kan, said: "The fish
that survived earlier have now died. Therefore, the sum must be
bigger."
The tide appeared in Middle Bay, Repulse Bay, Shek O, Chung
Hom Kok Beach and South Bay yesterday.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: April 14, 1998