Lake Toba fish safe to eat, says governor
Lake Toba fish safe to eat, says governor
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan
North Sumatra provincial government asserted on Friday that carp
from Lake Toba are safe for consumption, although some might have
been infected with Koi Herpes virus.
North Sumatra Governor Rizal Nurdin said that if the infected
carp were cooked properly, it would not be harmful to human
beings. "People should not hesitate to eat cooked carp from Lake
Toba," said Rizal on Friday.
Rizal launched an eat carp drive during a meeting on Thursday
night at his official residence, which was attended by chief
editors from various media in North Sumatra.
The campaign was launched following a recent call by
Simalungun regental government that prohibited local residents
from eating carp from Lake Toba, as most of them were infected
with the deadly Koi Herpes virus. The virus is characterized by
white or black coloring of the gills and the shedding of scales.
Millions of carp died after the virus affected over 2,600
keramba (baskets where the carp are farmed). The dead fish were
removed from the keramba on Nov. 8 and buried near the lake. The
dead fish weighed 800 tons.
Meanwhile, Fatni Sulani, the head of North Sumatra's Health
Office, said that an investigation found that Lake Toba was still
safe for fish farming and irrigation.
Fatni supported Rizal's statement that the fish were not
harmful for consumption if they were cooked properly.
The dead fish were first discovered in the lake on Oct. 25.
The health office conducted an investigation and it was later
found that Koi Herpes virus had caused the death of the fish.
The virus was not only found in Lake Toba, but also in the
neighboring province of West Sumatra.
The virus affected Lake Maninjau in Agam regency and Batang
Sumpur river in Pasaman regency, killing 2.5 tons of carp.
The health office in the province sent samples to a laboratory
in Sukabumi, West Java, where it is was confirmed that the fish
were infected with the Koi Herpes virus.