Fisheries warn public of fish poisoning following HTHH

15 Dec Fisheries warn public of fish poisoning following HTHH

2022/02/11 – Amid health risks and anxieties of dust and ash from the HTHH eruptions, marine emissions are also causing high levels of concern.  Fisheries authorities have issued warnings to the public to abstain from consuming seafood as emissions in the ocean are clearly continuing to seep out from the submarine volcano.

The caution stems from emissions in the ocean may have the potential to either poison seafood such as shellfish and fish or make them poisonous once consumed.

These emissions have previously been reported when the early volcanic activities took place late December 2021 and the same warning from Fisheries authorities were issued.

These warnings however have a greater impact on remote outer islands where these rural communities rely on seafood for their sustenance as imports are very infrequent. Coastal rural communities and islands also derive their livelihoods from fisheries and the lockdown will cut off a very integral part of rural households source of protein.

As fishery activities will cease and the lockdown will prevent households from marketing their goods – their source of income will come to a standstill. With limited resources and assistance from the government for these situations these households face a greater risk of food insecurity. Home gardens that have been devasted from the ashfall will take much longer to regenerate.