Concerns over poisoned fish found on seabed

FEARS of poisoned amberjacks have come to be added on the increasing list of health fears which riddle local news.

Sunflower oil contaminated by mineral oil, high levels of the carcinogenic aflatoxin in dairy products and the ever-present health risks posed by the water cuts, are some of the latest health threats which have raised people’s concerns.

The amberjacks were found dead on the Larnaca seabed, near the Zinovia shipwreck.

Their discovery soon raised suspicions that they had been poisoned by fishermen in a bid to secure an easy and effortless catch.

“We rushed to the scene to collect a few from the scene and have taken them to the Health Ministry’s Veterinary Department for a post-mortem analysis,” said Fisheries Department official Myroula Hadjichristoforou.

“This will help determine whether chlorine was indeed the culprit. We cannot speculate until we have the results,” she said, implying that fears of contaminated food are still premature.

“The amberjacks gathered are about one and a half to two kilograms in weight, which means that they are last year’s generation,” she added.

Is this the first time something like this has occurred?

“It happens now and gain, but it is rare. It is against the law, but this is not enough,” Hadjichristoforou thought and called for a change in people’s mentality.

“It all comes down to mentality. People have to be sensitised.

“The sea’s ecosystem is under a lot of pressure and in a critical condition.

“This is both because of over-exploitation of resources and because these resources are limited. It is not accidental that the EU’s fishery policy is very strict.

“It is ultimately up to the people.” Hadjichristoforou emphasised.

“You can’t have someone watch over the sea constantly. People must learn to act in such a way as to protect it.”