JOHOR BAHRU, Sept 4 — The Johor Fisheries Department has never banned the public from consuming fish and shellfish from the state’s water.
Its director Noraishah Hashim said there was confusion over the issuance of a notice regarding the presence of harmful algal bloom (HAB) in the waters off Tebrau Straits.
“The notice about the bloom of Alexandrium Minutum was uploaded on the official Facebook page of the Johor Fisheries Department on Aug 30.
“This has caused panic among the public. Following that they were afraid to buy fish and shellfish in the market. However, the notice has never banned the public against eating fish and shellfish in Johor.
“HAB was only detected in the eastern of Tebrau Straits (the Kulai Masai-Teluk Jawa waters) and not in the entire waters of the state,” she said in a statement today.
Noraishah said the notice was issued to create awareness so that the public would be more vigilant about the presence of these dangerous algae.
Meanwhile, she said HAB has no longer been detected in the Tebrau Straits area adding that continuous monitoring would be conducted.
Sources: BERNAMA