A resident of Osu Anohor in Accra has confessed to eating some of the dead fishes washed ashore over the weekend.
The woman who gave her name as Mercy Nortey said someone sold fish to her on Good Friday.
Upon discovering that the fishes were among the dead fishes washed ashore, however, she drank red palm oil, to dilute any potential poison that might be contained in the fish.
She made the disclosure when the Fisheries Minister, Mavis Hawa Koomson, led a delegation to the area to interact with the Chief Fisherman of Osu Alata, Nii Djamlodja, and some residents in the area.
Madam Nortey said although she experienced stomach upset and visited the toilet several times, she discounted the effect of the fish she ate and rather blamed the palm oil she took afterward.
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Madam Hawa Koomson was accompanied by Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Executive Director of Fisheries Commission, Michael Ata Dadzie, the CEO of Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Delese Mimi Darko, and some officials from the Sector Ministry.
They interacted with the residents in the area and explained efforts being made by the government to unravel the cause(s) of the situation.
The Sector Minister said although samples of the dead fishes had been taken for laboratory for testing, her outfit had also constituted an Inter-Agency Committee, comprising officials from the Fisheries Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drugs Authority, and Marine Police for investigation.
She appealed to those who had eaten some of the dead fishes to voluntarily own up so that health officials could monitor them to avert any eventuality.
The Sector Minister also pleaded that those who had already sold the fishes on the open market should withdraw them to enable the EPA and FDA officials to dispose of them safely.
Ghanaians woke up to the news of scores of dead fishes washed ashore on ‘Good Friday’, April 2, at Osu in the Greater Accra Region and Axim in the Western Region respectively.
Some residents in those communities allegedly took the fishes and sold them to unsuspecting persons while others used them to prepare meals for consumption.
The Marine Police Unit got wind of the situation and managed to seize some of the dead fishes for destruction while FDA had taken samples for laboratory tests.
The CEO of the FDA, had given the assurance the result of the laboratory test would be made public.