The State Fisheries Department (SFD) on Friday raided the East African Sea Food Limited (EASF) which is alleged to be importing fish into Kisumu from China and took samples for laboratory tests.
SFD officials and their county counterparts led by Executive for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Henry Obade visited the Kisumu-based processing plant and took a two-hour tour of it before leaving with samples of the fish.
Mr Obade said the samples would be tested by Government Chemist and “wide consultations done with experts before findings are made public.”
The move followed growing fears that the imported fish may be unsafe for consumption. The imports have also attracted an outcry from regional leaders who blame the influx for the sorry state of local fish markets.
“We want to argue with facts; no laboratory findings have been tabled, that is why we cannot comment on anything politicians are saying right now, it is not how we work,” he said.
The inspection came in the backdrop of political outcry by a number of Members of Parliament from the Lake Victoria region who on Tuesday July 5 urged the locals to boycott the fish as imports would kill their fishing industry.
“Unless and until the government tells us why it cannot make available the necessary resources to make our fish industry viable, unless and until the government authenticates the safety of these cheap fish imports from China, we urge our people to completely boycott their purchase and consumption,” the MPs said in a joint statement read by Rarieda legislator Nicholas Gumbo.