Campbell Bay, 21 Jan 2021
Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Nicobar District has published an advisory for the Cold Storage Operators and Frozen Fish Vendors of Nicobar District. The advisory states that whole fish should not be stored or preserved for sale.
The advisory further explains that the gut (Digestive Canal) of the fish contain food like plankton, sea grass, insects, small fishes and sea weeds. It further mentions that when the fish is stored in cold storages or deep freezers its guts and gills gets decomposed quickly which slowly decomposes the entire fish. The advisory further states that storing whole fish in cold storages and deep freezers degrades the quality and taste of fish as well as decreases its shelf life. Further consumption of such fish may lead to certain health hazards like allergic reaction and food borne diseases.
The advisory further states that before storing or preserving the fish its gills and guts must be removed and the abdominal cavity must be cleaned and the fish needs to be washed with potable water to remove all waste and blood stains.
The whole process is said to retain the freshness and taste of the fish as well as increase its shelf life. Further the advisory states that individual fishes which weigh less than 100 grams can be stored directly but upto a maximum of 48 hours.
The cold storage operators and frozen fish vendors of the Nicobar District have also been advised to maintain a register with details of the fish stored i.e. common name of the fish and the date of preservation in the cold storage and deep freezer.
Nicobar Times Interacted with some of the fishermen from Campbell Bay who store their fish in the Cold Storage of Fisheries Department and when we informed them about the advisory they were clearly not happy and stated a number of problems with such storage.
Nicobar Times will publish detailed scientific view of experts in the Fisheries Sector and the fishermen who regularly store fish in cold storage about the advisory issued by the Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Nicobar District.
The move is a welcome step for the consumers of the Nicobar District especially in Islands like Car Nicobar where frozen fish is largely consumed, which is transported from Campbell Bay and other regions of Nicobar District.
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