/ 23 July 1999

FISH BAN COSTING TANZANIA

TANZANIA is losing about $101000 daily in business since the European Union (EU) banned fish imports from Lake Victoria four months ago, Natural Resources Minister Zakia Meghji has said. “Fish fillet exports to European destinations have dropped to 83000 tons a day from 184415 tons four months ago,” Meghji late on Tuesday told parliament in the central Tanzanian town of Dodoma, some 450km west of Dar es Salaam. The EU banned fish imports from Lake Victoria in March, following reports that fishermen in the area were using poisonous substances, including pesticides, to enhance their catch. But Meghji said that samples of water and fish from Lake Victoria were sent to Brussels for examination, and experts there found that fish were safe and recommended lifting of the ban.