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The safety of fish and fishery
products in the tsunami affected areas: A WHO explanatory note.
First
draft (PB) : 17/01/05 :
Following recent rumours and
media reports, fish and seafood consumption in the areas affected by the
recent tsunami has declined amid fears about the safety of fish and fishery
products from the region.
It is understandable that the presence of human bodies
in the sea along the shores of the affected areas does create uncomfortable
feelings with regards to swimming or working as fishermen in these water and
consuming products from these waters.
Consumption per capita of fish and fishery products in
this region is among the highest in the world with the Maldives toping the
list with an average annual consumption per capita of more than 191 kg.
There, in particular Tuna fish is widely consumed and concerns about the
safety of such fish must be addressed. Tuna are pelagic carnivorous fish.
They are mostly captured on the high sea far away from the islands and are
therefore unlikely to come in contact with some of the few human bodies still
remaining at sea. In addition these fish prey on other smaller live fish and
are unlikely to feed on decomposed bodies.
There has been no epidemiological evidence or other
information to indicate an increased risk of fish and seafood borne diseases
in the region. The rumours about the dangers of
eating fish and fishery products in the region are unfounded. CIFT, the
Central Institute of Fisheries Technology in Kochi, India has analysed
samples from nearly 40 fish species with no results showing any safety
concern. The Institute compared the results to previous studies conducted
before the tsunami over the last 19 months. They did not find any changes in
the safety of these products.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO) has issued a technical note in the same reassuring lines
reiterating the lack of increased safety concerns with the safety of fish and
fishery from the region and has issued a Press Release to this effect on 14
January 2005.
: http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2005/88610/index.html
WHO will continue in collaboration with national,
regional and international partners to monitor and assess the safety of fish
and fishery products as well as other foods in the region.
Fish and fishery products play a key nutrition role in
the diet of the population of this region. It is therefore important that
confidence in the safety of seafood is restored and maintained in order to
ensure a continuous high contribution of fish and fishery products in the
diet of the populations of the region.
Related
sites :
FAO's Fisheries Department Tsunami site: http://www.fao.org/tsunami/fisheries/index.htm
The Asia-Pacific Fisheries Commission (APFIC) : http://www.apfic.org/
INFOFISH : http://www.infofish.org
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