Aceh fish still edible: Official

Aceh fish still edible: Official

JAKARTA (JP): The health authorities in Banda Aceh told people living in north of Aceh province yesterday that it is safe to eat fish from the sea.

Most people in Aceh have been put off eating fish since the Gurita ferry sank off Banda Aceh two weeks ago. More than 100, possible even more than 200, people drowned in the calamity and their bodies were never found to this day.

Rumors that the fish in the waters near Aceh were feeding on the bodies were strengthened when the few bodies taken from the water were decomposed beyond recognition.

The head of the Aceh health office, Burhanuddin Yusuf, told Antara that the rumors were unfounded, and that the fish, including big species, caught in waters off Aceh are fit for consumption.

The news agency did not determine what the people in northern Aceh have been eating in place of fish, a staple in the diet of the coastal people. (emb)