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.