SEREMBAN, Aug 15 — Laboratory tests on the second sample conducted by the Kuala Lumpur Fisheries Biosecurity Centre (PBPKL) on Tuesday on mussels and shellfish in Port Dickson waters found that the biotoxin reading was still above 800 parts per billion (ppb).
Negeri Sembilan Fisheries Department (JPNS) director Kasim Tawe said therefore the seafood is still unsafe as it could cause health problems and the ban on eating it is still in force.
“For the samples we took on Tuesday at two locations, namely in the waters of Kampung Teluk and Sungai Sekawang, the biotoxin readings were still above the limit. The third sample will be taken next week.
“As the results of the second sample still exceed the permitted level, JPNS will take samples and monitor the situation every week until the results of the biotoxin level are lower than the permitted level,” he told Bernama here today.
In this regard, he once again reminded the public not to collect, take or harvest shellfish in the waters for a while.
Earlier, the Telok Kemang Area Fishermen’s Association claimed to have detected a phenomenon believed to be an algal bloom in Pasir Panjang waters and issued an announcement banning the sale and harvesting of shellfish (dwicengkerang) from the waters of Port Dickson.
Meanwhile, Kasim said operators and farmers using the mussel stake and cage system from Sungai Sekawang to Tanjung Teluk, Pasir Panjang were asked to temporarily stop taking, collecting, removing and harvesting shellfish from Port Dickson waters with immediate effect.
He said the ban was issued until the investigation conducted by JPNS was completed and the public is advised not to eat shellfish from the affected area to avoid the risk of food poisoning.
“This follows the decision of the Technical Committee Meeting on the harmful algal bloom (HAB) case in Port Dickson waters which found biotoxin content in mussel samples taken on August 6 and August 12 to have paralytic shellfish poisoning toxin content exceeding the parameter level of 800 ppb,” he said in a statement today. — Bernama
