PNG FISHING - CATCH BY-PRODUCTS BANNED

 

SALTED FISH BANNED

Smoked salted fish (solpis) selling at the Kokopo public market (picture supplied)

 

BY GRACE LIMA of Post-Courier, KOKOPO

A man has died from severe food poisoning after consuming bycatch fish which are normally sold to villagers by fishing trawlers.

The villagers than sell the fish at local, street and village markets.

The man's wife is reportedly still in the hospital undergoing treatment.

As a result, the sale of smoked salted fish, commonly known as (solpis) in East New Britain has been banned for one month.

The salted preserved fish are rejects from fishing catcher boats which are exchanged by ship crew with villagers in Rabaul who then re-sell at Rabaul and Kokopo markets.

The East New Britain Provincial Health Authority (PHA) imposed the temporary banned due to the case involving a couple.

They developed severe reaction as a result of food poisoning from eating 'solpis' and were admitted at the Nonga hospital.

ENBPHA CEO Dr Ako Yap confirmed that they are aware of the issues and drafted a letter to the provincial administrator to approve a temporary stop of the selling of the product in all public markets in the province.

The Rabaul urban communities of Malaguna one, two, three and four and fellow villagers of Matupit and Rapolo, however, expressed frustration at the news as they rely entirely on the sale of the 'solpis' for daily cash.

The communities decided to hold a public meeting at the Malaguna ward three on Tuesday and invited the PHA, provincial government, fisheries and other relevant authorities to address the issue.

Women representative Josepha Bongoi said they did not get any official news or awareness to the mothers in village that the selling of solpis was banned.

“We go to public markets in Kokopo and Rabaul to sell solpis, however, many mothers were told to go back home and stop selling solpis,” she said.

She said they did not know why they were forbidden from selling solpis and raised their concern to their village leaders to ask the authorities to go down to them and explain and look for other ways for them to earn income.

During the meeting it was announced that the ban will be for a month and the PHA and fisheries authorities strategize to run a training with the mothers on how to prepare fish, food covering and other necessary preparation before they go out and sell their products.

The communities were told that for one month they will not sell fish while PHA will investigate the matter.