Sabah Fisheries Dept issues red tide warning to fish farmers off Kota Kinabalu

infographic

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Fisheries Department has issued a red tide warning for fish farms operating in waters off the state capital.

State Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Datuk Junz Wong on Wednesday (Feb 26) said operators of fish cage farming are advised to move their fishes from the cages in the open sea to the tanks due to a gonyaulax polygramma outbreak.

While it does not affect people who had consumed the fishes affected, this organism is known to damage fish cage farming activities causing the deaths of fishes.

“Samples have been taken from the waters around Pulau Gaya. The species mentioned only affects fishes, so we wish to alert fish cages farmers to take the necessary precautionary measures to avoid and reduce losses," said Wong.

He added that this red tide kills fishes due to a lack of oxygen in the water.

“Besides moving their fishes, operators should also filter the sea water used before putting it into the fish tanks, ” said Wong in a statement.

Wong said all fishes, molluscs, prawns, crabs and squids are safe to consume, provided that the gills and organs were cleared and the seafood is washed properly with clean water.

"Fishes are safe for human consumption. I would like to stress that this doesn’t affect human health and fishes are safe to be consumed in Kota Kinabalu city," he assured.