ENTREPRENEURS from the fisheries sector who are found in possession of fish that have been injected with water to increase their size and weight will face prosecution, the Minister for Livestock and Fisheries, Brigadier General Maung Maung Thein, said earlier this month.

“Some exporters and processing factory owners know that fish have been injected with water but they act like they don’t notice,” the minister told a meeting at the Myanmar Fisheries Federation on November 17.

“They export these fish for profit even though they have been injected with water, so we have decided to take action against those who are found with such fish even if they were not the ones who injected them,” he said.

The Department of Fisheries has issued warnings about injecting fish to increase their size and weight, a practice that can damage the quality of the fish and can also cause illness among consumers if the injected water contains bacteria.

The department has said that exporting such inferior-quality fish can damage the reputation of the country’s fisheries sector.

The department held a workshop last month to warn traders, processors and exporters about the dangers and side-effects of the practice.

“I asked the department to investigate and they found that the practice is being carried out by traders on the way to the processing factories from the market,” Brig Gen Maung Maung Thein said.

“We farm our fish for months so we would never do anything that would damage their quality,” said U Saw Myint Swe, who owns a fish farm in Twante township.

“If we find people with these fish they will be prosecuted. Whether or not they were the ones who did the injecting, they will face legal action and their fish will be destroyed,” Brig Gen Maung Maung Thein said.