KARACHI: No substantive progress in probe into dead fish
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Nov 18: Seventy-two hours have passed since large numbers of small dead fish were found on Karachi beaches, but government agencies are still clueless about the matter.
These fish, according to health and marine experts, are unfit for human consumption. Experts have also described their use in poultry feed as harmful. Consumption of poultry fed on such feed can cause serious harm to human health.
Sources privy to the investigation activities concerning the fish, which began coming out of the sea from Friday evening in the Seaview area, said experts were working amid initial hunches, and the reports of chemical analysis were being awaited. Experts at a marine centre at the University of Karachi, who began investigations on their own, said on Monday the fish were of various species. Other government labs and research institutes could not be delivered samples of the fish.
An official concerned at the HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry said the Institute had not received any sample from the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) or any other government department for any kind of test. The death of small fish in such a huge quantity needed an indepth investigation, including metal analysis.
Experts do not rule out the possibility of leakage or discarding of toxic substance from ships at high seas, which finally resulted in the death of large numbers of fish. There is also the possibility that some foreign ships may have had discarded their catch at high seas, to avoid action by marine authorities.
It was learnt that the federal ministry of environment has also taken notice of the presence of dead fish on Karachi beaches. It has asked SEPA to carry out a thorough investigation into the matter and send the report to it.
A joint meeting of officials of a couple of government departments was held at the SEPA head office on Monday to discuss the possibilities behind the fish casualty and modalities of investigations. The samples collected by SEPA were likely to be sent to chemical labs on Tuesday, sources said.
When contacted the Director-General of SEPA, Shafiq Ahmed Khoso, said SEPA was working in coordination with the fisheries department and other marine bodies. A high-level meeting on the matter would be held on Wednesday. The meeting was likely to be attended by representatives of the Maritime Security Agency and the National Institute of Oceanography, besides others. He said reports of chemical tests and analysis would be available to SEPA by Wednesday.
The Director of the Marine Reference Collection and Resource Centre, University of Karachi, Dr Quddusi B. Kazmi, said the fish that came over to beaches were of various species. We collected samples of the dead fish on Monday from the Seaview area and initial research works have been undertaken immediately, and detailed analysis would be possible only by Tuesday.
She said the species included Pomphret, Tricus and Cat fishes. No infection or impact of heavy metal reaction had been found on the bodies of the fish collected by the Centre, she said.
People began collection the dead fish from Saturday morning. They took away quite a good quantity of the fish by Sunday on pick-ups and other small vehicles.
The Director-General of Livestock and Fisheries, Dr Baz Mohammed Junejo, said on Monday one expert of his department was confident that this fish did not die due to toxicity or pathogenesis, adds APP.
“Our expert is of the view that the effect of toxic material last for at least 2-3 days in the sea and casualties continue for the same period. In this case, the dead fish were found till Saturday morning, and since then there is no report of any further casualty,” he said.
