Legislators yesterday enjoyed raw fish and freshly cooked fish soup in front of journalists to mitigate the damage over reports of mercury and heavy-metal contamination in the nation’s deep-sea fish stocks.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Kuo-cheng (林國正) joined Yilan County fishermen association delegates at a press conference in consuming the delicacies in an attempt to assuage mounting public concerns.
The legislators said many people are no longer buying seafood, which has led to a drastic decline in fish stock prices.
Photo: CNA
At an academic conference last week, a study by clinical toxicologist Wu Ming-ling (吳明玲) of Taipei Veterans General Hospital reported that people who frequently eat deep-sea fish over a long period had elevated mercury levels in their blood and hair, and cited six patients who displayed symptoms of mercury poisoning.
To convince the public, the delegates cut up a 50cm yellowfin tuna and prepared slices of raw tuna sashimi for the legislators to eat, as they also drank fish soup.
After Wu’s report was released, prices had fallen Chen said.
“The price of swordfish was NT$500 per one Taiwanese catty (600g), now it’s NT$250. The dorado dolphinfish price fell from NT$130 to NT$53. Tuna fell from NT$350 to NT$170. Prices have declined by at least half. So how can fishermen make a living?” Chen asked.
He said the researchers based their report of heavy-metal contamination in deep-sea fish on only a few cases and that they failed to specify the species of the fish.
“Would they shoulder responsibility for the economic losses of our fishermen?” he asked.
“I grew up in the fishing port of Wuchi [梧棲, in Greater Taichung], and my family depended on fishing for our livelihood. We had fish for every meal at home, and we are in good health,” Lin said.
He said a 2010 Japanese academic paper in an international fishery journal of a study involving 1,000 individuals did not find any symptoms of mercury poisoning, nor did eating fish cause any harmful health effects.
In response, the head of the hospital’s department of toxicology, Teng Chao-fang (鄧昭芳), said the study pertained to specific cases.
“As long as people have balanced meals and eat in moderation, it is alright to consume deep-sea fish,” Teng said.
Teng said he also likes to eat fish, but because each person’s physiology is different, he is unable to offer a daily recommended limit for the consumption of deep-sea fish.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS