Formalin treated fishes: Fishery Dept on high alert
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 29 2018: Following the recent seizure of imported fishes laced with formalin, a preservative with harmful side effects, at Nagaland and various other States, the Secretary (Fisheries) of the State has instructed the State Fishery Department to investigate the possible presence of formalin in the fishes imported into the State as well as to submit a detailed report regarding the issue at the earliest.

On the other hand, the State Government has directed the Nodal Officer (Food Safety) Manipur to ban the sale of ice packed fishes containing traces of formalin in the State.

Speaking to The Sangai Express, Secretary (Fisheries) Maranchan Luikham said that it is estimated that Manipur consumes around 52000 metric tonne of fish products in a year.

Out of this, the State produces around 32000 metric tonne while the remaining 20,000 metric tonne are imported from outside.

Most of the fish products imported from outside the State have the potential to be laced with preservatives.

But till date, there has been no report about the presence of formalin treated fish products in the State, he said.

Pointing out that news have been heard about the presence of formalin in fish products in Nagaland and Kerala, Luikham said that in the interest of the people, the State Government has directed the Director of Fisheries to investigate and see if the fishes in the market are treated with formalin and to submit a detailed report regarding the same at the earliest.

It may be mentioned that there was a recent case of seizure of fish products laced with formalin in Nagaland, Kerala and some other places.

Such fishes were disposed by the authorities.

Formalin is a poisonous/toxic chemical.

It is mainly used in hospital mortuary to preserve dead bodies and to prevent them from decomposing.

The chemical is colourless and as such it cannot be identified at a glance and needs to be tested in a lab for its presence.

In huge doses, formalin has the ability to cause cancer in humans.

On the other hand, Luikham said that the State Government, under the supervision of the Chief Minister, is working tirelessly to make the State self reliant when it comes to fish products by 2020.The Government is working towards increasing the quantity of fish products under schemes like Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and Neel Kranti, Luikham said.

Under RKVY, which is taken up under the Ministry of Agriculture, steps like digging of ponds, rearing of fishes at wet lands, funding fish farmers and fish farmer societies and imparting necessary training to the fish farmers for increasing fish produce are carried out.

Under Neel Kranti, fish farmers and societies are also funded to increase the fish produce.

Technical support, cage culture, rearing of fishes in water bodies, development of hatcheries, insurance for fishermen and fish farmers are also provided and the State Government is working tirelessly to improve the fish production of the State under the said schemes, he added.

Pointing out that the State Government is trying to implement fish rearing at hill areas by building dams under funding of the North Eastern Council, the Secretary added that steps are also being taken up to ensure the presence of good quality fish fingerlings.

He claimed that most of the fish fingerlings from private hatcheries are not of good quality and often fail to grow to the desired size.

Luikham informed that the State Government and a firm based in Chennai are working to establish a hatchery at Leimakhong Mapal under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

The State Cabinet has also approved the signing of an MoU and the launch of the project, the Secretary added.

The State Government will dig and manage the ponds for the project while the firm will produce the machinery required.

This will facilitate the production of around 5 to 7 million fish fingerlings per year, he added.

The State currently has 7 hatchery units and this project will help boost the productions of fishes in the State.

Speaking about fish feed, the Secretary informed that the State Government is planning to establish a fish feed production unit at Lamphel at the cost of around Rs 1.5 crore.

The necessary funds have been sanctioned and process of finalising the building blueprint and the machinery required is underway.

The unit will be able to produce 5 to 7 tonne of fish feed per day.

Pointing out that the ever increasing population and industrialisation has led to vanishing of water bodies, Luikham said that even in the face of such odds, the State Government will try to create more fish ponds and water bodies.

A special committee called Manipur State Fish Development Technical Committee was formed and it recently submitted its recommendation regarding the steps to increase the fish produce of the State.

As per its recommendation, the State Government is trying to organise a meeting of all the Departments concerned at the earliest, he added.

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