OFFICIALS from the Myanmar Fisheries Federation (MFF) are denying persistent rumours that fish brought to Yangon from the storm-ravaged Ayeyarwady delta are unfit for human consumption.

According to rumours, fish have been feeding on the corpses of animals and people killed last month by cyclone Nargis, and some fish have even been found to have human fingers in their stomachs.

“This is not true, we can guarantee that,” said Daw Toe Nandar Tin, an executive member of the federation. “There have been no cases where fingers have been found in fish stomachs. It’s just a rumour.”

She said rumours that fish are feeding on corpses and contracting contagious diseases have spread not only around Myanmar but also to other countries.
“Even some foreign buyers had suspended their orders. They said they were afraid that the fish might have caught some contagious diseases,” Daw Toe Nandar Tin said.

“It is totally nonsense. The freshwater fish from the delta come from fish farms, not from nature. The Department of Fisheries also guarantees that there are no diseases in fish being sold in the market,” she said.

She said the department has tested samples of fish from farms in the delta and all have been found safe to eat.

“Based on these tests, foreign buyers are accepting the safety of our fish again. But we need to convince local consumers that our fish are safe. They are farmed fish, and disease can't be caught by eating them,” Daw Toe Nandar Tin said.

U Hla Win, the chairman of Fish Information Service, confirmed that the freshwater fish sold in local markets are not flesh-eating species.
“And it’s very rare to get diseases from eating fish. There have been no known cases of humans getting diseases from eating the fish since the cyclone,” he said.

He added that while fish were safe to eat, people should take care to avoid contracting diseases from more common sources such as mosquito bites or drinking dirty water.