Seized fish fit for human consumption, says govt By Zuwena Shame

The nearly 300 tonnes of fish seized from a foreign trawler fishing illegally in Tanzania’s territorial waters are safe for human consumption, a senior government official has said.

Director of Fisheries in the Ministry of Livestock Development and Fisheries, Godfrey Nanyaro told ‘The Guardian’: “The fish have been stored well ever since they were seized from a foreign trawler. They are still fresh. So they are fit for human consumption.”

Nanyoro was reacting to public queries on the safety of the impounded fish barely a week after the Minister for Livestock Development and Fisheries, John Magufuli announced that the fish will be distributed to public institutions free of charge.

Magufuli named beneficiaries as hospitals, secondary schools, both public and private, orphanage centres, higher learning institutions, prisons and other organisations that will be required to submit requests for a share to the ministry’s Permanent Secretary.