By Kelechi Esogwa-Amadi
If nothing is done to check the influx of dead croaker fishes in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State Capital, residents of the city may soon be exposed to food poisoning arising from consumption of the fishes.
TPCN investigations revealed that within the last one week, dead croaker fishes have been on sale almost on every table where fish is sold, both in the few secret markets that are still operating and in the streets.
These croaker fishes now on sale in Port Harcourt, it was gathered, are the same dead croaker fishes found at the Bonny and Andoni sea shores early this month, suspected to have died from some harmful chemical.
The dead croaker fishes on sale now in parts of Port Harcourt are almost the same in size – small and medium sizes -and are sold cheaper than other fishes such as Titus, Kampala, Catfish, TPCN gathered.
Sources in Andoni and Bonny revealed that since the dead fishes were washed ashore, some big time traders who deal on Fish and other frozen foods pay some fisher men and jobless community boys in the area to pack the dead fishes and smuggle them into safe areas where they go and carry them with vehicles.
From there, they carry the fishes straight to their warehouses where they package them well in cartons and mix them with other imported fishes before selling to retail fish sellers at cheap prices.
However, most retailers are not aware that the croaker fishes they are buying are part of the dead fishes from Bonny and Andoni, as the warehouse operators do not tell them where they bought the fishes from.
Investigation further revealed that the fisher men who harvest these fishes usually go to the shore from 12 midnight to 2 a,m. to avoid being seen by security operatives while the fishes are also transported to Port Harcourt before 5 a.m.
Each croaker fish, TPCN learnt, is sold between N150 and N200 unlike in the past when those same sizes are sold between N200 and N300.
These croaker fishes have been seen in areas such as Borokiri, Diobu, D-Line, Ogbunabali, Wimpey, Iwofe and Choba axes of Port Harcourt where they are sold on table.
But it appears that the State Government is aware of this sudden influx of croaker fishes in Port Harcourt as the ministry of agriculture has already warned residents of Rivers State not to buy croaker fishes for now until the test being conducted to ascertain the cause of death of the fishes in Bonny and Andoni is concluded.
