Fish Farmers Demand Reimbursement for Contaminated Fish

Fish farmers, in a crisis after domestic freshwater fish were found to contain the carcinogen malachite green, protested in Seoul to demand the government purchase all the contaminated fish and dispose of it.

About 80 fish farmers from the council for inland-water fisheries (led by Park Cheon-gon) gathered in front of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MOMAF) in Jongno-gu and Kookmin Bank in Yeouido on October 10 and called for the government to come up with measures to minimize the damage to fish farmers whose fish were contaminated with malachite green.

According to the statement distributed during the demonstration, fish farmers argued that malachite green is permissible as a pharmaceutical recommended by the government, and that now that problems have occurred, the government is trying to put all the blame on them.

Lee Young-jin (39), the director of the council, said that since the government banned the sale of malachite green-raised fish, many fish farmers are now worrying how to make their daily living. “The government must buy those fish, dispose of them, and then allow us to sell other fish without malachite green,” he said.

In the meantime, the council is planning to hold a mass protest demonstration with three thousand people, including fish farmers, distributors, and raw-fish restaurant owners in front of the MOMAF on October 12, unless the government presents viable solutions to this crisis.

wing@donga.com