• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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NIMASA warns public on dangers of selling, consuming dead fish 

maritime (1)

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has warned the general public, especially the fisherfolk in the Niger-Delta region, on the dangers of consuming or selling dead fish to unsuspecting members of the public.

Speaking on the backdrop of recent shoals of dead fish washed ashore along with the Niger Delta coastline states of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, and Rivers, and others, Bashir Jamoh, director-general of NIMASA, said the agency has commenced a scientific inquiry to identify the cause.

“We are working with relevant scientific experts to isolate the cause of the abnormal issue of dead fish along the Niger Delta coastline. We want to identify the cause and establish what can be done to alleviate the adverse effect of this occurrence on the people and the marine environment in the affected areas,” Jamoh said in a statement signed by Philp Kyanet, Head, Corporate Communications of The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

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He appealed to locals in the affected communities and those who trade in aquatic animals to avoid consumption and sale of the dead fish, as such acts may carry criminal liabilities, especially with regard to the deliberate sale of the dead fish to the public.

Jamoh, however, said the investigation would involve an examination of the dead fish as well as water and sediment analyses.

According to him, The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has the mandate to regulate and protect the country’s marine environment as provided for in the Merchant Shipping Act 2007 and in compliance with the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 (MARPOL 1973/78), and other relevant instruments aimed at protecting the maritime domain.